Shohei Ohtani will read a statement and not take questions
On Sunday, Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani declared in the clubhouse that he’ll make himself available to reporters on Monday.
Define "available."
Via Alden González of ESPN.com, Ohtani will be reading a statement. He will not be answering questions.
What's the point? Just issue the statement. He surely won't have written it; it will be a product of lawyers and P.R. specialists. Having him read it won't make it his own words.
The statement will be read at 5:45 p.m. ET.
We'll continue to cover this story, because it's a gambling story not a baseball story. Inevitably, the NFL will find itself in a similar situation.
Ohtani's case has a different vibe because the gambling activities of his former interpreter happened in California, where gambling is illegal. For the NFL and all sports, it's possible if not likely that players already are bankrolling (and directing) gambling through legal and readily available apps.
At some point, it's going to come to light. At some point, the NFL could be dealing with a scandal involving not an average, random player but a superstar. How baseball handles its current mess provide valuable insight on how to perhaps avoid such messes in the future.
