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Elijah Dukes has kept quiet about the various off-the-field issues that have come to a head recently -- until Tuesday morning, when Dukes was moved to share his side of the story, calling in to the Ron Diaz and Ian Beckles show.
A fired-up but not profane Dukes spoke for 12 minutes, spending a lot of time disparaging his soon to be ex-wife Ni'Shea Gilbert and somewhat defending his track record of arrests.
Dukes told his side of the story for the first time. He disputed claims that he told Gilbert that Dukes' mother used crack cocaine, and also told of violence perpetrated by Gilbert against him.
Another major claim by Dukes was that he is not the father of a child alleged to be his, from a 17-year-old girl in the foster care of his step-grandmother. That news emerged last week.
Gilbert had called in during the first hour of the Ron and Ian Show, and though it was early in Arizona where the Rays are in action Dukes was told about the interview. Dukes called in around 10 a.m. and was immediately put on the air.
In response to allegations that she was after Dukes for his money, Gilbert explained that she came from money.
Dukes did not react well to that. "Ni'Shea Dukes, who y'all feature as a good wife and a stand-up person, is not so stand-up after all." Dukes said. "She was not born as a Paris Hilton or nothing like that to be trying to talk all proper. You all need to go to her house and see what I have done for them kids and for her. She would not be living in the townhouse with all that nice furniture and all that stuff if it wasn't for me. She is not living in poverty. If she wouldn't have been trying to steal my money the whole time we've been trying to talk, we would probably still be together right now. Everything is about money."
As for his conduct problems, towards the end of the interview Dukes was adked by Beckles if he needed help. "No I don't need no help. Everybody needs guidance. Do I need guidance? Yeah, I need guidance. Sometimes I need somebody to talk to. But I don't need help."
Later in the program Dukes' mother Phyllis called in as well, saying that Gilbert is "doing all she can to harm him.. and keep him angry."
Dukes, who has been involved in five incidents with the police in the past, downplayed the events. "How many times have I ever shot someone? How many times have I ever stabbed someone? How many times have I been to jail for brutally beating somebody? Never! I went to jail for breaking a remote control. She said I threw the remote control at her. I never threw it at here. I broke the remote control and went to jail for that. I never hit her and I went to jail." he said.
When asked about his background, and the fact that his father went to prison for killing someone over a bad $100 crack cocaine deal, Dukes said "if people must know... $100 of crack, you can flip that and get $200. You all need to be more open-minded about the situation"
Phyllis Dukes admitted to selling cocaine in the past, but said "I've never smoked crack before" adding that she only did it due as an effort to help some friends.
Regarding his recent benching, Dukes admitted he was slumping because of the recent injunction Gilbert won to keep him away from their children. "All of the other stuff going on doesn't matter. Being away from kids is what really hurts."
Another major note came when he was asked about the most recent story, of him impregnating a 17-year-old who is in the foster care of his step-grandmother. Dukes said that "Me and her did something one time, and it's not even close to the time the baby would have been conceived... I know for a fact it's not mine. What happened is if she wanted to stay at my grandma's house, but my grandma said no you gotta go. She started to make all these accusations and all of this. If this is my child, what is it to be broadcast like this. They just want attention. They open up doors for everyone else to call in and make all these lies up."
Until Tuesday Dukes had only issued one brief statement about the original article that detailed his threatening messages to Gilbert, and a confrontation at the school where she teaches.
"We wish Elijah had not engaged in the conversation but obviously he felt compelled to do so," Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told the Tampa Tribune. "We’ve spoken to him about it and we all want to minimize the distraction that it causes the organization."
To hear the entire interview, CLICK HERE
NiShea Gilbert talks to Ron & Ian CLICK HERE
Duke's Mom calls in too CLICK HERE
A fired-up but not profane Dukes spoke for 12 minutes, spending a lot of time disparaging his soon to be ex-wife Ni'Shea Gilbert and somewhat defending his track record of arrests.
Dukes told his side of the story for the first time. He disputed claims that he told Gilbert that Dukes' mother used crack cocaine, and also told of violence perpetrated by Gilbert against him.
Another major claim by Dukes was that he is not the father of a child alleged to be his, from a 17-year-old girl in the foster care of his step-grandmother. That news emerged last week.
Gilbert had called in during the first hour of the Ron and Ian Show, and though it was early in Arizona where the Rays are in action Dukes was told about the interview. Dukes called in around 10 a.m. and was immediately put on the air.
In response to allegations that she was after Dukes for his money, Gilbert explained that she came from money.
Dukes did not react well to that. "Ni'Shea Dukes, who y'all feature as a good wife and a stand-up person, is not so stand-up after all." Dukes said. "She was not born as a Paris Hilton or nothing like that to be trying to talk all proper. You all need to go to her house and see what I have done for them kids and for her. She would not be living in the townhouse with all that nice furniture and all that stuff if it wasn't for me. She is not living in poverty. If she wouldn't have been trying to steal my money the whole time we've been trying to talk, we would probably still be together right now. Everything is about money."
As for his conduct problems, towards the end of the interview Dukes was adked by Beckles if he needed help. "No I don't need no help. Everybody needs guidance. Do I need guidance? Yeah, I need guidance. Sometimes I need somebody to talk to. But I don't need help."
Later in the program Dukes' mother Phyllis called in as well, saying that Gilbert is "doing all she can to harm him.. and keep him angry."
Dukes, who has been involved in five incidents with the police in the past, downplayed the events. "How many times have I ever shot someone? How many times have I ever stabbed someone? How many times have I been to jail for brutally beating somebody? Never! I went to jail for breaking a remote control. She said I threw the remote control at her. I never threw it at here. I broke the remote control and went to jail for that. I never hit her and I went to jail." he said.
When asked about his background, and the fact that his father went to prison for killing someone over a bad $100 crack cocaine deal, Dukes said "if people must know... $100 of crack, you can flip that and get $200. You all need to be more open-minded about the situation"
Phyllis Dukes admitted to selling cocaine in the past, but said "I've never smoked crack before" adding that she only did it due as an effort to help some friends.
Regarding his recent benching, Dukes admitted he was slumping because of the recent injunction Gilbert won to keep him away from their children. "All of the other stuff going on doesn't matter. Being away from kids is what really hurts."
Another major note came when he was asked about the most recent story, of him impregnating a 17-year-old who is in the foster care of his step-grandmother. Dukes said that "Me and her did something one time, and it's not even close to the time the baby would have been conceived... I know for a fact it's not mine. What happened is if she wanted to stay at my grandma's house, but my grandma said no you gotta go. She started to make all these accusations and all of this. If this is my child, what is it to be broadcast like this. They just want attention. They open up doors for everyone else to call in and make all these lies up."
Until Tuesday Dukes had only issued one brief statement about the original article that detailed his threatening messages to Gilbert, and a confrontation at the school where she teaches.
"We wish Elijah had not engaged in the conversation but obviously he felt compelled to do so," Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told the Tampa Tribune. "We’ve spoken to him about it and we all want to minimize the distraction that it causes the organization."
To hear the entire interview, CLICK HERE
NiShea Gilbert talks to Ron & Ian CLICK HERE
Duke's Mom calls in too CLICK HERE
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