Jigga’s sports allegiance spurs his business decisions

Most people expected Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz would get busted for any number of illegal activities before ever getting caught selling out his team pride because of a recording artist.

In case you missed it, rapper/entrepreneur Jay-Z is suing the Red Sox designated hitter/Boston deity for opening a nightclub in the Dominican Republic called “Forty/Forty.” Jay-Z owns a chain of clubs in New York City called “40/40,” and Papi has apparently visited multiple times.

“Forty/Forty,” in baseball jargon, refers to the rare feat of hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases in a single season. Ortiz is one of the best in the world at one of those two things, but whatever reason he had for naming his club “Forty/Forty” is fraudulent any way you look at it. The man has stolen 10 bases his entire life. 

But why sue him over it? Ortiz was probably just borrowing Jay-Z’s idea to spike some revenue. Justice has nothing to do with it. Clearly, nobody in the Dominican Republic is going to be under the false impression that they are actually in New York City.

This is the beautiful part of the situation. It appears this humorous tiff has nothing to do with baseball. I, however, have to believe it has everything to do with baseball.

What should you do if you have billions of dollars, billions of admirers and a man who might already be going into the Baseball Hall of Fame wishing he were you? You’re entitled to a good laugh, but you would be the bigger person by just letting it go.

Unless you’re invested in the biggest rivalry in professional sports and he is the enemy.

If you weren’t aware, Jay-Z likes the New York Yankees. See, as much as Bostonians love blindly clinging to their beyond-beefy hero Ortiz (what “steroids era?”), New Yorkers look up to Hova, the biggest Yank fan around. I see him wearing their hat on TV more than A-Rod. He was also that guy who performed at Yankee Stadium before Game 2 of the last World Series. You know, that song with the line “I made the Yankee cap more famous than a Yankee can” — right before they won it all.

For those not keeping track, Boston chalked up their first point in the rivalry six years ago when Ortiz practically carried them to their first championship since 1918. In those 86 years in between, though, the Yankees won 26 times. I’m reminded of that World Series every time the slumping Ortiz gets on base now: It pretty much never happens, so Boston throws a parade, and no one has the heart to say anything about it.

Anyway, if you’re Jay-Z, you consider two things at this point. First, David Ortiz needs to be put in his place. And you now have the power to do that and take his money at the same time!

And if you’re a Red Sox fan, you shouldn’t be cool with Ortiz’s remarkably awful judgment for even putting himself at risk of ending up in this situation and embarrassing his fans. He didn’t just help spark Sox pride in Boston; he is Sox pride.

At best, he made an unbelievably careless gaff that will now likely have him serving up a fat apology and a fatter check to Jay-Z of all people (who should probably show up to court in full Yankee uniform when he accepts) for using his popularity to make himself more popular. At worst, he did exactly that.