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Betting scandal's unanswered questions

From my story today with Andy McCullough:

As the gambling scandal surrounding his friend and interpreter swirled around baseball on Thursday, Shohei Ohtani stayed silent. He exited Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, without addressing the reporters clamoring to better understand the circumstances behind his representatives alleging that Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s closest companion since arriving in Major League Baseball in 2018, had committed “massive theft” and stolen a reported sum of at least $4.5 million to pay off debts to an alleged illegal bookmaker.

Ohtani was far from the only person affected by the scandal to avoid inquiry. After offering contradictory accounts to ESPN earlier in the week, Mizuhara has not responded to requests for comment. Neither has Nez Balelo, Ohtani’s longtime representative from CAA. Dodgers president Stan Kasten and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman did not take questions. MLB officials have declined to weigh in, other than to indicate Ohtani is not currently subject to discipline from the league.

The cone of silence creates a void that has been filled by rumor, innuendo and conjecture. The coming days may fill the void, as the Dodgers return to the United States and federal authorities continue to examine the operation of Mathew Bowyer, the alleged bookmaker in Southern California who took the bets placed by Mizuhara and accepted wire-transfer payments from Ohtani, according to ESPN.



There are many questions that must be answered. Here is the first:



Why did Ippei Mizuhara change his story?



The two accounts of what happened could not conflict more. The first, as told to ESPN by a spokesperson for Ohtani as well as by Mizuhara himself, is that the two-time MVP wired the money to cover his friend’s gambling debt. The second, as told by Ohtani’s attorneys, is that the superstar was the victim of theft. The attorneys did not explain how the theft could have occurred.



Once the attorneys entered the picture, the spokesperson and Mizuhara disavowed their initial story. Mizuhara did a complete reversal, telling ESPN that Ohtani had no knowledge of his gambling debts and that Ohtani had not transferred money to a bookmaking operation.



The most logical assumption: Ohtani’s attorneys feared the original version could place him in some form of legal jeopardy. Which raises another question: Why did the spokesperson for Ohtani allow Mizuhara to talk at all?



A number of outlets pointed out Thursday that multiple federal laws prohibit wiring money to an unlicensed sports gambling operation. Whether Ohtani would be prosecuted for such an act is not known. The government generally goes after bookmakers, not bettors. And based on the accounts thus far, Ohtani wasn’t the one betting.



Might the league, however, discipline Ohtani for his mere association with an illegal bookmaking operation, even if he said he was only acting on behalf of a friend? The Major League rules, specifically Rule 21(f), give the commissioner broad powers to issue discipline, citing that old standby, “the best interests of baseball.”



Of course, it’s easy to see how commissioner Rob Manfred might determine that a ban on Ohtani simply for being naive would not be in the best interests of baseball.
https://theathletic.com/5361168/2024/03/22/shohei-ohtani-ippei-mizuhara-betting-scandal-questions/?source=thewindup_newsletter&campaign=9300005&userId=11932965