Aftermath of Shohei Ohtani interpreter gambling scandal leading to more questions
Wednesday’s “stunning firing” of Dodgers P/DH Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter Ippei Mizuhara will “attach itself permanently to Ohtani’s phenomenal narrative, a story arc that until now was the stuff of dreams,” according to Gabe Lacques of USA TODAY. Ohtani the ballplayer “will be fine.” Ohtani the brand, “the myth come true, the greatest global ambassador the game could ever desire, may endure unscathed, too.” But until various questions are answered, an “odd and unsettling tango, all of it dancing around a federal gambling probe, will unfold” (USA TODAY, 3/21). In D.C., Chelsea Janes wrote on Thursday night, an “ocean away from Dodger Stadium,” Ohtani “did something he had never done.” He was “enveloped by scandal.” To be clear, no one has “alleged any gambling on Ohtani’s part.” But “no one is more financially important to his team and MLB than Ohtani, either” (WASHINGTON POST, 3/21).
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: In D.C., Adam Kilgore wrote players, leagues and fans “have been reckoning with the still-unfolding effects of sports gambling” since a Supreme Court ruling handed the question of legalization to states in 2018. Each constituency “may be arriving at the realization those impacts have mushroomed beyond anyone’s control” (WASHINGTON POST, 3/21). In N.Y., Mike Vaccaro wrote for now, it seems, MLB has “avoided the second arrival of the onrushing locomotive that nearly killed the sport 125 years ago.” For now, it seems, the “most famous baseball player on the planet remains on the correct side of the one uncrossable line that would blow the sport apart at its core.” There are “still a number of furlongs to go before we get to the teeth of this story.” But it “sure pushes the game’s biggest name perilously close to the line” (N.Y. POST, 3/21). The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Jason Gay wrote “I do know this: Baseball hoped to kick off its 2024 season with a wave of adoration for its best player.” As for baseball, it is “hard not to see the hazard that it and other professional sports invite as they continue to embrace the world of legal sports betting” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/22).
WAKE-UP CALL: In S.F., Scott Ostler wrote under the headline “Shohei Ohtani is wake-up call that sports’ gambling problem is getting worse.” Sports “instantly changed forever.” The “wide-open, ludicrously lucrative and dangerously seductive relationship” between the sports and gambling industries has “turned — again — into something seamy, dangerous and worthy of re-examination” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/21). In Toronto, Bruce Arthur noted this “is a reminder of how things used to be.” Mizuhara and Ohtani “could have gambled legally like madmen.” Now, with the FBI on the case, this “won’t be something MLB can bury in the backyard.” We are “going to find out whether the biggest star in baseball is in real trouble” (TORONTO STAR, 3/21).
IMAGE CONSCIOUS: In L.A., Dylan Hernández wrote Ohtani “won’t tell his story, so his story is being told by people less articulate and charming than himself.” His public image is “now in the custody of people who are hopeful this story will simply vanish.” It “won’t” (L.A. TIMES, 3/21). Seoul Konkuk Univ. Marketing Professor Lee Seung-yun said that as long as Ohtani “isn’t directly accused of illegal betting, the allegations won’t meaningfully hurt his carefully crafted public image.” Lee: “His image is so strong and impeccable, and as long as he wasn’t directly involved, the allegations may just end up a blip” (AP, 3/21). In Philadelphia, Marcus Hayes noted Ohtani is “the face of a game flagging in popularity.” He is the “face of numerous corporate entities which would not want to be associated with a gambling scandal.” Is he “too big to fail?” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 3/21).
TOUGH START: In California, Bill Plunkett noted the Dodgers’ visit to South Korea has “been a triumph for MLB’s international outreach.” But it has “featured a bomb threat, not deemed credible on Wednesday, and Thursday’s bombshell story centering on Ohtani.” An MLB source said that Ohtani was “not facing any discipline nor is he under investigation for any connection to illegal gambling” (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 3/21).
