Having had trouble finding work on the diamond since his abrupt release by the Washington Nationals last March, Elijah Dukes says he's starting a rap career under the name of "Fly Eli."
And given that he's manufacturing publicity in the worst way possible, Dukes better hope that Fly Eli's rhyming skills are supreme because he's probably not going to be getting another job in baseball. In a television interview that's set to run Friday night and a newspaper article that will print on Saturday, Dukes claims that he was sometimes under the influence of more than just power drinks and bubblegum when he stepped out on the field.
In several interviews, including one at his home and one at the studio, Dukes talked about how the police are out to get him, the difficulties of being a black athlete in Tampa and how he was "thrown under the bus" by Major League Baseball.
He says he was blackballed by baseball after he came forward last year with allegations that fellow ball players were smuggling drugs onto chartered aircraft, using drugs in hotel rooms after flights and how he would sometimes smoke marijuana before home games when he played for the Washington Nationals.
Well, that would be one way to explain why the five-tool prospect never came close to living up to his tremendous promise, either with the Nationals or the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Tampa Trib says it'll have more later on the latest chapter in the ever-evolving Dukes story, which is equal parts fascinating and sad. Until then, check out a video of Fly Eli attempting to lay down a track for "Say No To Drugs."
Big BLS H/Ns: @natsenquirer, @kevin_reiss
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