The Spire

Billy Holmes ’25

Staff Writer

When the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to a 10 year contract worth $700,000 million, they were almost certainly expecting Ohtani to constantly be in the headlines throughout the baseball world and the sports world as a whole. Through the beginning of the MLB season that has been the case, but not necessarily for Ohtani’s outstanding play. 

On March 20th, ESPN broke the news that Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhura, had been involved in a sports betting operation which was worth approximately $4,5000,000. Also, it was shared that Mizhura allegedly used Ohtani’s bank account to assist him in electronically transferring money within the gambling scheme. The exact details of the situation are still unclear as reports have come out stating that Mizuhara supposedly said that Ohtani was aware of Mizuhara’s gambling and would assist him in paying off debt as long as Mizuhara agreed to stop engaging in sports betting; however once the situation reached the public, Mizuhara allegedly shifted away from these claims and said Ohtani had no prior knowledge of his gambling habits. 

On March 25th, Ohtani commented on the situation by proclaiming that he had no knowledge of Mizuhara’s actions. Ohtani also professed his innocence in the situation by saying that he had never participated in any type of gambling regarding baseball or any other sport. The Dodgers ended up firing Mizuhara after the organization became aware of the situation, and as of now, Major League Baseball is conducting an investigation to examine everything that transpired in regards to Mizuhara’s gambling. 

Although this story was a shock to many, especially considering Ohtani’s low profile in regards to his personal life, gambling has been an extremely hot topic across the sports world over the last few years. With 38 states legalizing sports betting along with the popularity of websites such as FanDuel and DraftKings, gambling has become almost ubiquitous throughout the national sports landscape. With the increasing attention betting within sports has gained over time, professional sports leagues have experienced their fair share of controversies and difficulties regarding sports gambling. For example, this past season the NFL suspended 10 different players for violating the league’s policies around gambling. The prior season, star wide receiver Calvin Ridley had to miss the entire year as he served a suspension for betting on games while he was recovering from injury. Recently, another huge issue arose in the NBA as Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter was accused of being involved in a gambling scheme of his own. Porter’s case is such a unique one as there is strong speculation that Porter would purposely attempt to play poorly or even exit the game in order for the under of his prop bets to be hit. If true, Porter’s punishment could be extremely severe as the NBA will most likely aim to set a precedent due to his involvement in gambling potentially having a direct impact on his in game performance. 

It is important to acknowledge that betting on sports is not going anywhere. With the amount of money the practice generates and how various gambling companies are advertised throughout commercials on television and social media, it is clear that sports betting is not going anywhere. However, the accusations against players throughout a variety of professional sports leagues over the past few years is quite alarming. The main concern is that players will continue to engage in this type of behavior which will lead to players’ priorities towards betting dictating the outcome of games. Despite Shohei Ohtani proclaiming his innocence within the scandal he found himself associated with, the situation highlights the problematic side of sports gambling and why it needs to be taken seriously by professional sports leagues.