Elly De La Cruz motorcycle clip will send Reds fans into full panic mode

When you're the superstar of an MLB franchise and the key to a team's success, there's a few things you should avoid doing during your time away from the field. Downhill skiing is one, and riding a motorcycle is another. Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz chose the latter, and it was caught on video.

Reds fans woke up to a rather alarming video clip on Friday morning of De La Cruz riding a dirt bike — without a helmet — alongside some friends in his native Dominican Republic. There was nothing inherently disturbing about the video itself, but the simple fact that De La Cruz is participating in such risky offseason activities with less than two weeks left until spring training is questionable at best.

Given the lengthy list of athletes who've suffered injury due to motorcycle accidents, one has to wonder why contractual provisions aren't in place to help dissuade this type of activity. Noted stars like Ben Roethlisberger (NFL), Jason Williams (NBA), Kellen Winslow II (NFL), and Fernando Tatis Jr. (MLB) have all suffered injuries while riding on a motorcycle — some of which were career-altering.

Elly De La Cruz motorcycle clip will send Reds fans into full panic mode

The social media reactions were about what you would expect given the nature of the video. Words like "dumb" and "stupid" have been being floated about, especially when you consider De La Cruz's future and how much money he could make on his next contract.

De La Cruz is the face of the Reds franchise and without him on the roster in 2026, they have no chance to make the playoffs. Taking such a risk is not only irresponsible, but one has wonder what he's teammates think about his actions.

So long as there's no language in his contract that prohibits such activity, De La Cruz didn't do anything wrong. But the optics are really bad. It'll be interesting to see the fallout from this incident, if any, and whether or not the Reds' front office and ownership have any issue with De La Cruz riding motorcycles in the future.