Boston Red Sox

Video: David Ortiz steps in to defend woman berated for dancing on airplane

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

Sports Illustrated, Tanner Walters/Sports Illustrated

Retired Red Sox slugger David Ortiz defended a woman after a man berated her for dancing to loud music during a three-hour layover on an airplane.

Ortiz was on a flight to New York earlier this week when the plane had to be re-routed to Boston. Grounded for what Ortiz said was three hours, the passengers decided a dance-off was in order. In a video posted to the YouTube channel of a Domincan Republic entertainment channel, Angelita Garcia de Vargas (the wife of Miguel Vargas Maldonado, a Dominican chancellor) can be seen dancing to Luis Fonsi's "Despacito."

Then, a man marches up the aisle with his finger pointed, demanding that the music be turned off so passengers could make phone calls.

That's when Ortiz stepped in.

Ortiz: “Well you don't have to get all loud, sir.”
Man: “I want to make sure I'm understood.”
Ortiz: “But you don't have to get that loud.”
Man: “Alright well I did”
Ortiz: “You're talking to a lady.”
Man: “Alright, Pedro. Oh, I'm sorry—“
Ortiz: “David.”
Man: “Right. David.”
Ortiz: “You're talking to a lady. You treat her nice and then maybe we follow up.“

Ortiz went on Instagram after the flight, posting a video about the situation and his concerns with the way the chancellor's wife had been treated. In his rant, he particularly calls out the other passengers who supported the man. He explains that this culture of disrespect only perpetuates the dangerous circumstances for women in countries like the Dominican Republic.

He has since deleted the video.

Watch the full incident and Ortiz's response (h/t Stan Croussett, @crewsett):

And a translation of Big Papi's follow-up video:

“The big problem in our country is that we ourselves – the Dominican men – are the ones who promote femicide. That incident that occurred with Angelita on the plane where the guy came talking all his shit – that is the reason why we men in the Dominican make the decision to hurt or kill women. It's because we're supporters of what's bad. We were stuck on that plane there for three hours. Time had been passing and we were bored, she decided to play around with that music since we knew we weren't going anywhere. And here comes this guy to shit all over her. Then he hears all these people supporting him ’Oh she's in the wrong, this and that.' Figure your shit out before you start talking shit, my brother! That man was wrong! He disrespected a lady. And everyone who has a woman in his life needs to know that he was wrong. Stop talking sh*t!”