Derek Jeter Once Revealed How a Terrifying Movie Made Him See Dogs as “Threats” Before His Wife’s Adorable Gesture

Derek Jeter played baseball with dedication and the hunger to win. And the former Yankees captain did whatever it took to win. He worked on his game and made the right plays. Jeter even put his body on the line and injured himself during a number of plays.

Being the captain of one of the most decorated sporting teams, Jeter never feared any opponents in the ballparks. But there is one thing that even the 5-time World Champ was scared of because of a film he watched once.

Derek Jeter was scared of dogs

Jeter used to be desperately scared of dogs, and this was because of a movie called Cujo. The movie focuses on a dog that is infected by rabies and goes on a killing spree.

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In a 2015 piece in the Players’ Tribune, Jeter said “I’ve been scared of dogs almost my entire life. I blame Cujo. Remember that movie? The one about the killer dog? I watched it when I was young and, man, it terrified me. After that movie, I was not messing with dogs at all. Big dogs, medium dogs, little dogs — it didn’t matter. I saw them all as threats.”

Jeter must’ve been especially surprised when his fiance Hannah Davis gifted him an Italian Mastiff in 2014. The former Yankee was admittedly uncomfortable around animals as he never had a pet before. But the former Yankees’ shortstop had a puppy to look after, thanks to his then-fiance Hannah Davis.

As all new dog owners do, Jeter struggled to control the puppy, who he named Kane. But he admitted that it might have been more his fault than the dogs. “My panicking was probably making him panic”.

However, Jeter persevered and was able to learn how to properly take care of his newest family member. Jeter went from being terrified of dogs to owning and loving one like family.

Jeter lost a lot of sleep because of Kane

In the Players’ Tribune article, Jeter also talked about how he lost sleep because of Kane. In the article, Jeter said, “He probably loves to sleep more than anything, which is ironic because I’m getting less sleep than I ever did before.”

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Jeter went through a lot to overcome his fear of dogs and become a proper dog owner. What do you think of Derek Jeter’s fear of dogs? Is it irrational or completely normal? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.