The scandal involving Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and his trusted interpreter rocked the baseball world.
Right as the season kicked off came the report that the interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, allegedly stole $4.5 million of Ohtani’s money to pay off his gambling debts. (There are new reports that the amount he stole is actually $16 million.)
Adding plenty of intrigue (and confusion) to the story was all of the twists and turns it took, leading many to suspect that Ohtani had much more knowledge and/or involvement in the situation that he let on.
BREAKING: The Department of Justice just announced that Shohei Ohtani's interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has been charged with bank fraud after allegedly stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani. pic.twitter.com/iM1ym8tdb4
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 11, 2024
According to reports, Mizuhara is in the process of negotiating a guilty plea in the matter.
Meanwhile, everything is “business as usual” for Ohtani as he navigates through the early part of the season with the Dodgers.
So happy Shohei Ohtani can focus on what really matters now 🙏 pic.twitter.com/CPdH1x9VV2
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) April 11, 2024
It does seem very strange that a scandal this large has been in many ways “swept under the rug.”
Other than making a relatively generic statement, Ohtani hasn’t spoken on the matter.
That is unacceptable to many people, including New York Yankees play-by-play voice Michael Kay.
Michael Kay blasts Shohei Ohtani’s media silence: ‘He hasn’t answered a question!’ https://t.co/i7OexwWdfX pic.twitter.com/CzwcLHOPSO
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 11, 2024
“The most unbelievable thing to me, fans don’t care about this. The guy has never had to take questions on this. Not once.” Kay said on his ESPN New York radio show.
“What other athlete, in any professional sport, would be allowed to remain mum – not say a word other than a prepared statement and never take a question?”
Kay’s co-host Don La Greca agreed…
“This guy doesn’t have to answer a question? And he’s in the middle of what could be one of the biggest scandals in baseball history and he has not answered a question,” La Greca said.
Michael Kay brought up some insanely good points about the whole Ohtani thing. Any other player would NOT be playing during active investigations. He hasn't answered a single question regarding the holes still in his story either. It's pretty ridiculous.
— 𝓛𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓼🍒 (@yankeesgoddess) April 9, 2024
Kay and La Greca make a great point…
Ohtani may be 100% innocent in the matter, but for him to not even have to speak about it in any way, shape or form is very strange.
Don't show this to Michael Kay pic.twitter.com/cX6f5ZtUr0
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) April 11, 2024
We know that Commissioner Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball seemingly want this ugly scandal to simply go away.
After all, Ohtani is arguably the biggest star in the entire sport – and with MLB’s new relationships with legal sports betting companies, the last thing the powers that be want is to find out that their $700 million man had anything to do with the scandal.
Jomboy Media and Michael Kay to the Shohei Ohtani news pic.twitter.com/q090pHUP9G
— RB (@rbhockey6) April 11, 2024
There are multiple investigations going on into the matter. Perhaps we found out more information.
But it’s looking more and more like Mizuhara is going to take the fall and Ohtani is going to have very little to offer publicly.
Maybe that’s exactly how it should be – especially if Ohtani is as innocent as he claims.
However, the situation is very unusual in that seemingly no one is at least pressing Ohtani for answers and/or clarification.
Shohei Ohtani combined salary (before taxes) through 2023: $42.3 million
I understand he has other endorsements but still, HOW do you not notice $16 million missing from your account pic.twitter.com/vCNuiRmVkT
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) April 11, 2024
The situation is slowly playing itself out.
Meanwhile, Ohtani is off to a solid start for the 10-5 Dodgers. He’s batting .333 with three home runs and eight RBI’s.
Full story: https://t.co/iHFx9nEgce
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) April 11, 2024
What are your thoughts on the situation?
Do you agree with Kay that Ohtani should at least be pressed for comment more than he has been???
(Even though he’d probably just take the “I can’t comment” approach.)