Everyone said the same thing about the Shohei Ohtani gambling case

March 20, 2024; Seoul, SOUTH KOREA; Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani reacts after playing against the San Diego Padres during a MLB regular season Seoul Series game at Gocheok Sky Dome. Photo Credit: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports

Shohei Ohtani is in the middle of a big gambling scandal involving his interpreter, and the allegations against the Los Angeles Dodgers star had everyone saying the same thing.

Ohtani’s interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday for alleged theft related to gambling losses. Mizuhara allegedly racked up a $4.5 million gambling debt to a bookie from Southern California who was under federal investigation. Initially, Mizuhara told ESPN on Tuesday that Ohtani had paid the interpreter’s gambling debt to the bookie. But Mizuhara changed his story on Wednesday and said that he stole the money from Ohtani to pay for the gambling debts, which totaled $4.5 million.

Whether or not you believe the revised story , or whether you believe Ohtani was more involved than Mizuhara says, the entire story had people thinking the same thing: Pete Rose.

Rose was infamously banned by MLB for betting on baseball games — including ones he managed — and lying about it. The allegations surrounding Ohtani and his interpreter had everyone mentioning Rose.

None of this means that Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame — he doesn’t deserve your sympathy . But Ohtani being caught up and having a direct link to a bookie — theft or otherwise — puts him and MLB in a bad spot at the least. At the worst, well, MLB doesn’t even want to consider that.

The post Everyone said the same thing about the Shohei Ohtani gambling case appeared first on Larry Brown Sports .