MLB will investigate Shohei Ohtani gambling situation
From the moment the United States Supreme Court opened the floodgates for state-by-state legalized gambling, a wide range of scandals involving all major American sports became inevitable. Perhaps the biggest one yet has hit perhaps the biggest star in the sport of baseball,
Major League Baseball announced on Friday that it will formally investigate the gambling allegations involving Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. The statement specifically names Ohtani as one of the persons that the allegations involve.
Here's the statement: "Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media. Earlier today, our Department of Investigations (DOI) began their formal process investigating the matter.”
From the moment the situation first arose on Wednesday, it has seemed a little fishy. Mizuhara stole money from Ohtani to gamble and/or Ohtani paid off $4.5 million in Mizuhara's gambling debts and/or Ohtani's name appearing on $1 million in wire transfers from his bank to an illegal gambling operation.
From the start, it has seemed as if (in my own personal opinion and in no way a statement of fact) that Mizuhara might have been the predetermined fall guy, in the event the situation ever imploded. For now, opinions don't matter. What matters are facts. And the question is whether MLB will pursue the facts objectively and zealously, without regard to whatever the outcome might be — up to and including punishment of Ohtani.
The Ohtani case involves illegal gambling, but it's no surprise that illegal gambling might be happening more regularly. The stigma of sports betting is gone, since it's now legal in most states and the bet-bet-bet ads for it are everywhere. However, it's not yet legal in California. Which means that any pro athlete who decides to gamble there will still need a bookie — and perhaps someone other than the athlete to be the one dealing with the bookie.
The situation also underscores the possibility if not the likelihood that players in states with legal gambling operations are using family, friends, and/or other associates to place bets on their behalf. It's just a matter of time before cases like that come to light.
