Gambling and Shoehi Ohtani! What's up?

On The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith gives you his renowned point of view, breaking barriers beyond the world of sports, and tackling pertinent issues across entertainment, pop culture, society, business, and politics. Three times a week, you'll hear his LIVE unfiltered opinions on the day's biggest headlines as well as straight-shooting interviews with top celebrities, game-changers, and thought leaders across the societal arena.
The Stephen A. Smith Show is sure to entertain, inform, and motivate anyone who tunes in.

[@tjmusiker407]

Loudmouth. Quiet down Steve. 3wks later and the Fed has cleared Ohtani.

[@mikechan2942]

This racist has been silent since the investigation proved shohei is clean

[@toshikopage7112]

He is just a loud mouth nobody.

[@electrixfyingipod6206]

@@toshikopage7112if he’s a nobody why are you here watching him and commenting????

[@Bo55world]

If sure , would say OJ was cleared too?

[@sskkzk3019]

You will never be able to visit Japan in the rest of your lifetime.

[@HTHAMMACK1]

LOL! Nobody cares. This whole incident stinks of a cover up.

[@IncredibleCommentary]

Where’s the update, Steven? (Did I spell that correctly?)

[@toshikopage7112]

He can’t update, because he dosent want ti admit that he was wrong. So stupud.

[@keophong9598]

Remember This is the guy that said shohei didn’t deserve an mvp cuz he can’t go anywhere without his interpreter

[@trevorcarey3997]

Stephen A also said Shohei can't be the top guy because he does'nt speak english, but he praises Acuna all the time, and he does'nt speak english either (In fact Ohtani speaks better english then Acuna)

[@btafbm]

Stephen A has made it clear many times he’s xenophobic. I also remember when Kawhi left the Raptors he said he’s just happy the nba champions won’t be from Canada anymore

[@jaylin39]

Ohtani was betting and been fixing games. Cancel his 700mil contract & he needs to leave America & go back to Japan!

[@keophong9598]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6XReX9sqtmZfJYsi=JOof37xiD5lXkLMV

[@boyboy1234100]

Now if ohtani was black sas would say ohtani is a victim 😂😂😂😂

[@rolandmarkland6844]

No, he always throws black athletes under the bus.

[@FootyRevolutionHQ]

🧢 cap​@@rolandmarkland6844

[@gladigatorrawr1480]

​@@jaylin39little bud why you trying to be a low effort troll circa 2007?

[@HTHAMMACK1]

I've spotted the racist ladies and gentlemen.

[@lxbui]

Where is the coverage of his innocence??

[@baseballcrypt]

You didn’t even spell Shohei Ohtani right….

[@jig1056]

Yeah, because that’s the most important thing about the story

[@tanyamcdermott134]

Nice...

[@TrevJ91]

You think Stephen A Is the one updating these clips? 💀

[@olivercool2308]

Overrated haha

[@AgentSephiroth]

@@TrevJ91 You know the answer to that question, so many 'acoustic' folks on the internet. If you get what I mean.

[@Silence_Duder_Gooder]

Okay, so I heard Stephen talk on Farce Take yesterday (3.22.24), and he asked how Ohtani's interpreter could have his banking information. Stephen basically scoffed at that notion. But if Stephen had watched game two of the Dodgers/Padres series, he would have heard one of ESPN's Korean analysts talk about his days as an interpreter and told us that part of his job was to prepare his athlete for all sorts of things, one of them being that player's banking. He said that he started that athlete's bank and credit cards, which means he had access to that information. The second part I would like to highlight about Stephen's lack of research is that Farce Take brought on one of their journalists who broke this story and wrote an article about that article days before they spoke on air about it. And apparently, Stephen never read that article, as the journalist had to point out to him that "it's in the article," the something Stephen had issues with concerning this case. You could see the frustration on the reporter's face when she said that. Way to go, Stephen. You have access to all of that information coming from your own network, and somehow you managed to look unprepared regardless.

[@tadatube]

I think both sides are telling the truth. The $1M that was paid from Shohei to the bookie was Shohei looking after for his buddy. The rest ($3.5M) was stolen by Ippei. I can't imagine Shohei, who lives and breathes baseball, would be interested in gambling. Hell, he's not even that interested in money. When he was in Japan, he gave up his entire salary to his mother and he was given an allowance of like $1,000 per month. That is not the type of dude that would be wasting his time and energy to gambling.

[@AlexanderRodriguez-pc7xe]

Gambling is not just for money its also about the thrill. Maybe shohei is a gambling adict

[@tadatube]

He is a baseball addict. I bet he couldn't name 5 teams in the NBA or NFL. Gambling is for folks that are bored and have excess time on their hands, not for a 2-way baseball player in the world that trains harder and longer than any player in existence.

[@christ3667]

Yu Darvish was caught, while underage, at a pachinko parlor. You may be right.

[@tadatube]

Pachinko is where losers go to kill time. Again, it's for bored people, like an arcade.

[@baldeagle4710]

he's very interested in money. the money he's deferring is a tax shelter so he can save $98 million in taxes.

[@jayotangs3067]

If people actually follow Shohei’s past, the way he lives his life, train, the way his mom gave him monthly allowance from his own Salary and he still saved a lot of that money before coming to America, the fact that He didnt even care that he opted out his contract from Japan to come to the Angels and lost millions of $ and Now he has a contract of 700mil, i doubt he would just take up gambling all of a sudden.

[@danweston6109]

People are really jumping through hoops to believe Ohtani isn't in on this. Hopefully federal prosecutors 'actually follow his past'.

[@ericbogar9665]

You don't think that is a gamble when you opt out of your contract making millions to see if you can make it in the MLB? 😂😂

[@Amodernelder]

@@danweston6109Yeah, the caping is crazy.

[@mykelc205]

I don't give a damn..if he wired transferred 2 payments to a bookie..HES COOKED!!!!!

[@markgonzalez8828]

@@mykelc205cooked to a fine. Not a ban.

[@usaexplore410]

Why does this guy hate immigrants so much?

[@toshikopage7112]

Because he is Black.

[@HTHAMMACK1]

Are you serious with this shit?

[@usaexplore410]

@@HTHAMMACK1 I am. And so are the people that liked my comment, the hundreds of others that commented and the thousands that have liked those comments. He’s had nothing but bad things to say about foreign players in baseball, basketball and any other American league sport

[@metalhead8934]

If Ohtani really was involved and they let it slide Pete rose deserves to be in the HOF first ballot next year no questions asked

[@Orange_DNA]

This is bigger than baseball. Jim Small and MLB would lose all of their Japanese clients if they said, Showtime was guilty. Japanese are still curious about why this is an issue. I agree with you about Pete Hustle being allowed into the Hall.

[@Gyc864]

Didn't Pete Ross bet on MLB though? Shohei is the face of baseball, Shohei will probably get 1 year suspension but that's about it. Michael Jordon barely got a slap on the wrist, while Calvin ridley only got 1 year for betting on his own team.

[@y2shuproblem]

The issue is if Shohei gambled in baseball. If Shohei didn't gamble in baseball, he's gonna get away with a slap in the wrist at most.

[@ucouco78]

​@@y2shuproblemhe didn't bet on baseball, he paid his friend's debt. The problem is the bookie was illegal. Depends if the FBI wants Ohtani or not.

[@jaylin39]

Stupid Ohtani trying to be face of the league, white players should be the face of the league. Ohtani was betting and been fixing games. Cancel his 700mil contract & go back to Japan!

[@alfredobermudez6430]

Do not gamble boys and girls

[@BravesFan_54]

Fr, the house always wins.

[@sb17146]

Sick how people can just gamble by downloading an app now. Got friends tied up in online betting and someone of them have lost their savings because of this addiction. Regulations need to be stiffer because of how easy it is to bet now.

[@peterduro7950]

Unless it’s a lock

[@tristinhall1275]

@@sb17146 regulations do not need to be stiffer. People need to be adults. Stop always looking for somebody to take care of you.

[@lsw876]

@@tristinhall1275ah yes we should just have no laws or regulations on anything.

[@angelmatos9143]

The stench of our hypocrisy is unbearable. We constantly promote gambling like it's Black Friday & Christmas and then we act 'shocked'. 😎

[@howdareyou41]

K well it's illegal in Cali and even if it wasn't, gambling has been around for a long time, and it's been a long time since it's been known that being a pro athlete and gambling on sports is a big no no. Imagine you get into bad debt betting on soccer and then your bookie says throw the World Series and we're good. That could easily happen with Ohtani.

[@howdareyou41]

Fans are allowed to gamble. The players aren't. That ins't hypocrisy. That's the job they chose. We have no outcome on the game. Shohei kinda does.

[@angelmatos9143]

@@howdareyou41 players are fans also. One race, the human race. Don’t expect a ‘subrace’ that behaves differently. 😢

[@the1handbandit530]

@@angelmatos9143what a dumb comment 😂

[@lancegranata8801]

"we" LMAO

[@BobbyHo2022]

Doesn't seem like something Ohtani would do.

[@gobot581]

Doesn't seem like something his friend would do. Also no bookie is giving a random guy a 5 million dollar line

[@marcscherzer]

I am with you. It seems like a man who decided to defer most of his money (millions of dollars) is not that interested into such a thing, and what's more, reports say that his mother managed (prolly most of, if not all) his salary back in Japan.

[@tadatube]

People are just envious of Shohei because he's too perfect. They are trying to seek out anything that will taint his image. Nice try haters, but Shohei is clean.

[@trevorcarey3997]

​@@tadatubeI agree. The thing is Ohtani is to nice, first he deferred money just to make only $2 million dollars for the better of the team, and now lending his buddy Ippei money to help his dept. And Shohei get's the blame for both of that generosity.

[@mrcalipride]

@@gobot581 yea they would if they know hes Ohtanis translator. Think about it, the bets are on college football and basketball. You have to be an american or grew up here to bet on those sports.

[@stevenhuang1142]

Muncy and Yamamoto, two people grateful for the commotion over Otani.

[@johnhoward1313]

Muncy would be a damn good full-time DH. Unfortunately, he's no Brooks Robinson or Craig Nettles at third base.

[@DoGooder13]

Stephen says no evidence of Ohtani gambling on mlb but he compares him to Peter Rose. 🤦‍♂

[@Laidback_616]

Brought to you by Prize Picks.

[@grahamjl766]

lol, It really is sad when 90% of the large sports channels main sponsors are gambling houses. I realized that when Rudy Gobert got his fine.

[@ashokathegreat4534]

This is not the channel for your jokes Dave

[@HamAndCheeze]

Underrated comment

[@theamericanbrotha]

Underrated comment

[@Jevildury]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@crystalborne8315]

You're absolutely correct about one thing---you don't know. Ippei has denied Ohtani's involvement, the bookie's legal rep has denied his involvement, so just let the investigation run its course. Why even put it out there that Shohei may have gambled? You're just adding fuel to the court of public opinion, which can unfairly taint Ohtani's reputation,

[@shep1582]

Steroids, do you remember? You may hate Stephen A but he's right. Baseball is sanctimonious, If Ohtani bet on baseball he has to go. If not, no issues. Not my standard, nor Stephen A's, but baseball's standard. It's reasonable to discuss b/c of the Pete Rose stupidity.

[@crystalborne8315]

@@shep1582The difference here is that there is no evidence whatsoever that Shohei actually did any gambling, let alone baseball gambling. What is being put out there is the suggestion that he somehow used Ippei as the middleman for his own gambling.

[@shep1582]

@@crystalborne8315 You should re-look at Stephen A, he didn't say he was guilty, neither did I. I don't know, you dont know, no one knows except Otani & Ippei. This all sounds funny, that's why I agree with you, MLB should thoroughly investigate and move on. Why, b/c what they did to Pete Rose. However to stay silent about the most famous athlete in the world is naive.

[@JaysusEscobar]

Because Stephen A was right, it ain't about who stole what money to cover whose debt. They're hunting, hunting for if Shohei Ohtani gambled, that pretty much all they care about. They just want to make a big scene out of this by putting out all these statements from everybody

[@josephpasquarella2123]

Gambling is the destruction of our society

[@joshuaclemens8544]

Stephen is so dramatic it's comical 🤣🤣🤣

[@smartluck100]

AGREED! Lighten up Francis. He is unnecessarily emphatic

[@etamommy]

That is his job!

[@blackballer3750]

it's all acting😂😂

[@joshuaclemens324]

To be dramatic ? He's a reporter... Not an actor.

[@robertvelazquez1921]

I mean they forgave the astros🤷‍♂️

[@MeToo-py1tq]

But not Pete Rose

[@Omar_AlWardian]

Feds are going to indict Ohtani under: The Wire Act 18 U.S § 1084- It is a Federal Offense to use the internet or a telephone to pay a debt of yours or others to an illegal gambling organization. Ohtani is getting Pete Rose'd from MLB according to a Manfred aid in New York.

[@aaronjackson2304]

No one has forgiven the Astros. The MLB just chose to look the other way to the chagrin of other teams, players and fans. That’s why they are still trolled with trash cans and boos at stadiums outside of Houston to this day.

[@marcscherzer]

Would they "allow" Bauer to play in MLB again? Why hasn't he put pen on a contract, if he's been proven innocent (correct me if I am wrong)?

[@justin78975]

@@aaronjackson2304Yep, if the players were punished we would have stopped by now but Manfred is a lil pus

[@Hard0milk03]

who is shoehi

[@-C.S.R]

No one has said anything about betting on baseball. He was betting on international soccer games football and basketball is what every report I seen so far.

[@CESAR154__]

Bullshit…

[@gordon2945]

​@@CESAR154__no bullshit it true

[@JohnW9012]

The investigation is far from being complete and it's not in the hands of MLB.

[@Gaminglavender]

Shohei Ohtani recently married, there is no way the Interpreter Ippei will be hanging around Shohei. Mamiko Tanaka probably went through their bank account and found out about Ippei’s living off Shohei’s money.

[@brianborowski7368]

Ok, if the story changed from it was a loan to it was theft, it could change from no bets on baseball to a lot of bets on baseball.

[@mikebrutis2721]

The Fall Guy should ask the dodgers for Catalina Island

[@eddiegainz1673]

ESPN did 90 minute interview so wheres the Video or Sound of Ippei speaking about it???

[@chriskay1449]

ESPN doesn't run this show. ESPN is keeping that from themselves.

[@jaylin39]

Exactly, I don't trust any Asians ever & this Ohtani guy needs to leave MLB. Americans own MLB not this dude

[@MotU91775]

Ohtani would be the first millionaire ever who didn't realize 4.5 million dollars was missing.

[@user-zm4wy4fy6o]

I am sure you meant to say would NOT be the first to not realize money was missing. Unless you have lived under a rock your whole life, you would have heard of many such cases where a famous wealthy person was swindled by someone in their inner-circle and it is usually for MILLIONS.

[@LARULES100]

Yeah.Ohthani only lives and breathes baseball.Hes not worried about money because he has plenty.

[@jamesnguyen7069]

Not really. Been many. Mike tyson and many others. Probably too young to remember

[@MotU91775]

@jamesnguyen7069 not as young as you think. But come on, Mike Tyson was uneducated with hang arounds robbing him blind. Ohtani is supposed to be an intelligent individual who is in control of his brand. Something tells me nothing gets by Ohtani unless he makes it so.

[@jaylin39]

Ohtani was betting and been fixing games. Cancel his 700mil contract & go back to Japan! Stupid Ohtani trying to be face of the league, white players should be the face of the league.

[@partypartida]

Am I the only one who thinks Ohtani's interpreter is the fall guy?

[@showofftexas6880]

Nope not at all.. I hope they paid him well

[@dantesuguitanjr2629]

Investigate Otani the whole way. The fact that he paid off the debts gives me a red flag here.

[@jimmie5359]

If Pete Rose is still banned...........

[@ninjalogc1893]

Ohtani wasn’t betting on mlb games

[@rossdilworth3412]

Pete rose deserves about 5 lifetime bans. Betting on baseball as a manager is absolutely unacceptable. Stephen is pretty stupid for being how rich he is, the murderer analogy is absolutely absurd. Murderers get out of prison...they paid their debt to society.... Ok. Doesn't mean I have to celebrate them.

[@sinep4371]

@@ninjalogc1893 well we don't know if he did or not.

[@mathewsbusiness1263]

That part

[@swore24]

Yeah, they want to run with that narrative because that’s what they’re hoping is true . If the guy doesn’t bet then what ??

[@24theMoney]

This is epitome of what a Fall Guy is.

[@t7492]

This guy is going to end up apologizing again for his nonsense.

[@freddymaximo5767]

Innocent until proven guilty. You weren't saying that when covering Matt Araiza or your colleague Michael Irving

[@sb17146]

Haha. Stephen A Smith thinks Ohtani is guilty, can't just say it outright because he has caught flack for saying obscure things about Asians in the past.

[@rolandmarkland6844]

Tissue

[@AyeYoBoxingWithMadiba]

@@sb17146you’re projecting hard lol

[@sawanpatel9920]

I think Ohtani was genuinely covering his friend's gambling debts....his team walked it back when they realized he could be implicated in a federal crime.

[@cityboychad]

No. A crime in Japan.

[@rolandmarkland6844]

Lol

[@johng187]

You know what they say “ when you see smoke

[@MKM_RIVAL_]

Ohtani going out like Pete rose explains why he wanted that large contract 😆😆

[@raymonddon8875]

we love you & support you shohei... from mexico!

[@1234Frank]

Smith has egg on his face again.

[@jasonlew8074]

Preach on it Stephen A

[@yamamancha]

I've read, but haven't been able to find verification, that the wire transfer came from an expense account to which Ippei had access. And I'm not sure why people are shocked that Ohtani would entrust Ippei with an expense account. The guy and his wife were basically Ohtani's personal assistant team. Ippei handled the logistics of Shohei's $6m donation in baseball gloves to Japanese schools and Shonei buying Kelly's wife a Porsche. Ippei's wife helped Ohtani's wife make the move to the US and dog-sat for Ohtani. $10 million to Ohtani is like $1,000 to most people. Of course the Mizuhara's would have an expense account.

[@victorle7693]

Shohei is pampered….he made ippei take care of everything in his life outside of baseball. Ohtani needs to grow up, learn English and take responsibilities in his life. Time to be a big boy and not have an interpreter be your mommy….

[@sinep4371]

@@victorle7693 He delegates everything that has nothing to do with baseball. that's why others around him take care of everything else. He wants to only focus on playing baseball, that's it, that's all.

[@sb17146]

​@@victorle7693what has English have to do with anything? Lol. Americans are butt hurt that MLB's biggest draw isn't a fluent English speaker. I've taught English to Japanese, Koreans and Chinese. Their dialect makes it very hard for them to enunciate English words. Not to mention the slang, subj-verb, and rules are very different. This is why there are Asian Americans who have been in the states for decades who still have a hard time speaking fluent English. Ohtani speaks English casually. He speaks English in the locker room. He only needs his interpreter for the media. Nothing about being afraid of anything lol

[@rolandmarkland6844]

Lol

[@bronxbomber9448]

@@sb17146 he still illegally gambled and now making his best friend take the fall. What a guy

[@DOXO881]

Pete Rose placed bets on his own team while playing for and managing the team so that would be ruled differently compared to someone who bet on other sports. Also, Rose admitting to having sex with a 16-year old when he was in his 30s and married probably didn't help his image with MLB.

[@silvergold2140]

MLB,,--- Needs to suspend Shoehi,, for the rest of the season, ban him from mlb for life. as it did with Pete Rose!! that simple...

[@jaylin39]

Ohtani was betting and been fixing games. Cancel his 700mil contract & go back to Japan! Stupid Ohtani trying to be face of the league, white players should be the face of the league.

[@kennethevans4056]

My thing is if you don’t have concrete hard evidence of the situation why would you even put that out there

[@justicestyles]

Because they found out the Feds are watching

[@joeys7519]

The feds do

[@kennethevans4056]

If the feds have evidence against him they would say it

[@tinieblashistoriasdeterror4963]

I love Ohtani, but there's something fishy here. If he and the interpreter were good friends for a long time he knew that his best friend had some compulsive gambling issues. I hope I'm wrong about it, hopefully Ohtani is found innocent at the end of the investigation, but this doesn't look good.

[@Amodernelder]

Yea, there are some holes in the story.

[@GoAdventure83]

Gambling addiction is easy to hide.

[@jaylin39]

Stupid Ohtani trying to be face of the league, white players should be the face of the league. Ohtani was betting and been fixing games. Cancel his 700mil contract & go back to Japan!

[@carloslozada470]

If interpreter stole 4M shouldn't he be in prison now

[@rolandmarkland6844]

Maybe in your country. In the US one has to go through a legal process.

[@HYPEMANTV0]

Asians stay gambling it was all coordinated

[@obstinatehammer7113]

Only if Shohei wants to file charges. Ippei is on the line for gambling in California though.

[@mazzith]

They originally said that Ohtani just paid the debt of his friend. His friend was in the dugout joking around before the opening season game a couple days ago. The switched the story because transferring money to an illegal bookmaker.

[@jamesnguyen7069]

Hes in korea not in usa right now

[@MajorKrafter]

He did and the interpreter is paid to take the blame

[@speculator3gthe238]

Can’t wait for vlad to interview Pete Rose again. 🤣

[@miro11912]

💀💀💀

[@Raider2Pac]

Thank you sir. Finally someone in media saying what I'm saying on this. Nobody cares about what some interpretator did, SAS only one shooting straight here

[@manuellanderos928]

Lmao I bet if ohtani were still with the angels they’ll be going for his neck but since he’s in the dodgers they’re finding ways to protect him lmao

[@smilehuhu29]

If Otani were interested in gambling, he wouldn't defer 97% of his annual salary until 10 years later, and he wouldn't donate 3 gloves to every elementary school in Japan or provide 10 million yen to earthquake victims as other donations. Because it costs a lot of money. Ohtani simply loves baseball more than money. On the other hand, Otani has no interest in gambling and is ignorant of it. He's just a guy who dedicates his life to his hobby, baseball. I would like people to understand Shohei Otani a little more.

[@josephpasquarella2123]

Does anyone really think Ohtani is such a perfect nice angel to just give his friend $5 million to help out of the goodness of his heart? That doesn’t exist brah

[@ucouco78]

He paid his friend's debt. Bookie was illegal under investigation, end of story. The media is obsessed with trying to pin a gambling charge on Ohtani that the real story will pass them by lol

[@aaronstutoringandtravelling]

I think he is guilty. It really seems that way.

[@evahasegawa2109]

remember that his mother is giving him 1,000 dollars per month that time! all english transactions like the sponsors and others mizura has the access

[@Nighthawk-8050]

Oh please Othani is gonna get a suspension and a fine not a life time ban. There's no smoking gun.

[@suika197]

This is the answer Power of Attorney(POA)　or check writing privileges Ohtani is completely innocent👍 DANIEL KIM said When I worked as an interpreter, I had to assist the players on just about every aspect of their daily lives. These include: opening bank accounts, taking them to DMV to get licenses, and setting up utilities. I also carried their check books on the road for clubhouse dues.

[@juancazares2809]

Ohtanis account paid a Bookie. Enough said ! That’s a 1 year suspension & possible lifetime ban (if he bet on MLB )

[@LARULES100]

It was his pal.Ohtani is untouchable.If anything happens to him we boycott mlb.

[@LARULES100]

Othani is untouchable We boycott if the mlb does anything to him.They can't fumble the bag.

[@ashokathegreat4534]

Ohtani makes MLB

[@justicestyles]

He was gambling and now he’s going to say oh I didn’t understood because I’m not American 🤣

[@smartluck100]

Steven A is ridiculous. Who would hire him??? He’s an HR nightmare waiting to happen.

[@Bugatti0700]

Players bet on sports everyday!!! It happens get over it and let’s put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame!!!!

[@baybossSKS]

Can’t see the highest paid sports player ever to bet even 10 mil and risk almost a bill

[@louis3141]

Yeah because Jordan in his prime wasn’t betting like crazy or being in gambling debt

[@Mikesamsmith]

Stephen A. We know you have grudges against Shohei because you made a fool out of yourself making a racist comment before. You are trying to turn the attention to shohei because of your personal vendetta. But to your dismay, shohei is the cleanest athlete you will have ever reported on and you will have nothing out of the investigation to satisfy your racist mind. You feel me?

[@blackoutgang09]

And he would have gotten away with it if it wasnt for those pesky kids.

[@michaelstone7514]

He'll of a friend to give him 4.5 million to cover his bets!

[@johnnymontana8927]

Please, he is guilty.

[@pedroespinal8644]

as soon as Othani said he’ll get majority of his 700 million at the end of his carrier to avoid all those taxes,IRS said hold my beer Othani we gon get you someway somehow 😅

[@hiromibalotelli9641]

By getting paid in that way, he won’t be able to avoid taxes. You should search throughly. From his point of view, he still has to pay.It’s just that the state of California might not be in the position to be collect.

[@baldeagle4710]

yup lol. the CA state controller is pissed about his deal, seems like a loophole. eventually the tax man will get him. lmao.

[@baldeagle4710]

@@hiromibalotelli9641 he absolutely will be able to avoid taxes. if he moves away from CA after the 10 years to a tax free state, he saves $98 million in taxes as he's collecting the deferred money.

[@pedroespinal8644]

@@hiromibalotelli9641still americans like when millionaires spent their money here rather than taking it overseas

[@betonblack3621]

How the hell do you accumulate 4.5 million in gambling debts?! After I lose $500 I’m out. Even if I got a $700 million dollar contract!

[@johnthonig1692]

Ban him for life or reinstate Rose

[@kikovazquez7277]

I'm no Dodger fan but I am a big fan of Ohtani. But objectively SAS, you've avoided one massive critical issue which could be Shohei's downfall if he was in fact wagering or merely covering the interpreter's gambling debts. The MLB rule which is so rigorously enforced allows players to make bets on sports other than baseball ONLY through legal channels. So whether there was betting on baseball or not in this case, whatever betting took place was obviously via this illegal bookmaker who is under federal investigation and/or other illegal gambling channels. So per the MLB rule the only issue is whether Shohei was covering the Interpreter's losses regardless of whether he was betting on major league baseball or on figure skating championships since clearly, his bookie was taking bets illegally. This is what makes the situation so fraught for Shohei and would explain the change up in the explanation from his camp from "Shohei was just covering for his friend" to "Shohei was the victim of massive theft and had no idea his friend was using the money to pay an illegal bookmaker". Regardless, IMO MLB should award Shohei some mercy if he wasn't betting himself or if his friend's bets were never baseball bets. In Pete Rose's case he clearly was betting on baseball and the Reds himself, and not covering for another after the fact. They are not the same.

[@cgreen9048]

Do feel the same about LeBron and EPO's ?

[@demetriushill9725]

What

[@shaheemtaylor960]

Lmaoooooo wtf does Lebron James have to do with this. He lives rent free in peoples heads daily lol dam at least wait for it to be a basketball topic before inserting what about Lebron

[@demetriushill9725]

They are mad LeBron has no criminal history or Record plain and simple

[@mrplaytime3326]

Thankyou he running from that report and ESPN Lebron on the juice report that

[@Carlos-vb9ft]

Tf is an EPO?

[@tkhsyshs]

もういいよ、、大谷を日本に返してくれよ。。いつの時代もアメリカに動かされるのは嫌だよ。。

[@nimaiiikun]

日本はアメリカの植民地です

[@Viviorkogaming]

Great reporting. Love the title

[@onita2739]

You have to apologize if Shohei is not involved in this gambling.

[@stephenasmith]

GTFOH! Apologize for what????

[@jpm5205]

How do you say "racketeering" in Japanese?

[@thechi2848]

Gambling is huge in that culture, is it yakuza behind the scenes? Who knows!

[@roberttorres4348]

😂Lie detector test😂

[@Viviorkogaming]

The real story, how does this bum, SAS still have a job. Nothing mentioned here was new or insightful.

[@toshikopage7112]

They need to fire him.

[@-.TS.-]

Ohtani who doesn’t watch or know NFL or College Basketball, betting on the sport doesn’t make sense to me. I do see, how he can pay off Ippei’s debt. Which makes him guilty of gambling as you can’t bifurcate who did it.

[@SWHunte401]

No way in hell they’d ban Othani he’s literally the biggest superstar in Baseball rn somebody had to take the fall rightfully so

[@yardape99]

The Feds can change all that!

[@chriskay1449]

If he was found to have bet on baseball, they have no choice because of Pete Rose. Otherwise they are massive hypocrites.

[@samuelsandate9804]

​@@chriskay1449That's the key here, did he bet on baseball or not. The federal authorities are going to find out if he did or not.

[@lancegranata8801]

Shofraud bet 4.2 mil against himself on July 4th, he was pitching and he blew the game on purpose to hit the over.

[@davidwenzel717]

Gambling and sports it's just getting started and the leagues are just as much to blame.

[@shep1582]

No they are not, have you heard of prohibition? A bar is to blame for an alcoholic? Gambling is not bad, excessive gambling is bad. Before you yell at me insert the word Alcohol

[@chronius7057]

Can't believe I'm saying this but I agree 100% with Smith

[@randomname3715]

Not a bookie. No bookie has millions to allow a gambler float that much. Especially not 4.5 million.

[@donsantos8798]

Is this was a African American player SAS would be defending him.

[@paulmilford1187]

Pete Rose isn't African-American

[@rolandmarkland6844]

You sound like a racist

[@miro11912]

Stay off the WEED

[@AyeYoBoxingWithMadiba]

Y’all be saying anything lol

[@toshikopage7112]

Yep you are right. He is raciest against Asian. Which makes him feel superior which he has never experienced in his whole life.

[@my95buick]

Just when I thought steven a could speak without screaming. He starts yelling.

[@JP-qx7sv]

SAS is desperate for Ohtani to be found guilty

[@mazzith]

I just bought my first house and had to wire transfer my 20% down to escrow account. I was unable to do it online, I had to call my bank and identify myself to send it. I doubt his bank didn’t have protects like this for transferring 500k at a time.

[@user-yd4nk4lm6s]

Every child of an immigrant knows you can bypass that shit when you have personal information and a fake broken English accent

[@foghatrocks]

Manfred will never investigate, Otani makes way too much money for MLB.

[@samuelsandate9804]

It's always about the money. If in fact, he didn't bet on baseball and it was his interpreter who bet, that will be the excuse not to ban Otahni. Apparently, players are allowed to bet as long as they're not beating on baseball games. The issue here is that betting is illegal in California.

[@marcscherzer]

>Ohtani makes way too much money for MLB. I am down, but is there any data proofing this? Or is it just public assumption?

[@LARULES100]

​@@samuelsandate9804he bet in South korea.

[@1taichang]

@@marcscherzer Really? What proof do you need besides seeing many jerseys worn by fans, even just counting Asians?

[@tsquare5111]

Dude, the bookie is being federally investigated. They diggin up everything.

[@aaronspears6828]

You are wayyyyyyy off Steven A. I worked at Angels Stadium during Othani’s rookie year, I was in the club house as part of the parks catering service, Othani was and I believe still is a very nice guy, a kid, I didn’t get the impression that he was a hard time gambler

[@secondhandnoise432]

Shohei Othani or Shohei Betts??? 🤔

[@gilbertmarquez7561]

So it's OK for baseball to promote and use gambling companies as sponsors but baseball players can't gamble is like my job promoting alcohol but I can't drink alcohol in my own time , I think it's a bunch uf BS.

[@rolandmarkland6844]

The problem here is the illegal gambling sites. It’s legal for him to bet on sports other than baseball on legal sites.

[@JimmysJohn33]

He bet on sports in a state where sports betting is illegal. And he’s a $700 million face of the MLB.

[@buddyboye4203]

All the White guys in the comments mad about Pete Rose lol.

[@user-sz6bh6vo6c]

New mythical athlete: Shoehi Ohtani

[@cityofmagic4370]

Ohtani so great he’s getting Pete rose reinstated 😂

[@kingslugg4168]

Speak facts!!!!!! 💯💯💯💯

[@heyeye81]

Even if he wanted to help, it still broke a law. He should be subject to upholding the law. Knowing or unaware it doesn’t matter as it’s his account it was wired from. For him to say he is unaware is strange for a transfer of that size, he would need to clear it. His team managed to defer his contract to skirt California taxes legally, so much so they are trying to rewrite tax laws because of it. This shows his team is aware of finances coming and going.

[@scottysdkoi523]

Good Points

[@MotU91775]

It doesn't matter if the interpreter gambled on baseball or other sports, he's linked to Ohtani. The fact that Ohtani wired money that went to a bookmaker under federal investigation is the issue.

[@sb17146]

Hence why they needed to say Ohtani's money was stolen. Ohtani needs to consult his legal team before he does anything tbh. He is so ignorant and nonchalant about American laws... That's not going to fly. Ignorance of the law is never an excuse

[@lazym91]

​@sb17146 Ohtani doesn't need to worry about nothing, he's good, stop spreading misinformation

[@sb17146]

​@@lazym91where's the misinformation? Everything I said was based on what's been reported

[@user-xh4wd5hh2p]

If the glove don't fit, you must acquit.

[@aloe.0v0]

Shohei must have been involved from the start because WHY would a Bookie be stupid enough to let a man with an $85,000 salary rack up millions of dollars in debts?? It would be impossible for the Bookie to collect on those debts UNLESS he knew a figure like Ohtani was tied up in it.

[@philb.1502]

Well, yes.😂!! Ohtani himself placed the bets.