Shoei Ohtani is a professional baseball player who currently provides his services for Los Angeles Dodgers from Major League Baseball.
In it year 2023after ending his relationship with the Ángeles Angels, signed a million-dollar contract with his current clubat the rate of 700 million dollars for a period of 10 years, the most expensive contract in the history of professional sports.
Now, Japanese player faces life-long ban when involved in a betting scandal closely related to its translator, Ippei Mizuhara.
What happened to Shoei Ohtani?
It all started with him dismissal of his translator and friend, Ippei Mizuhara for allegedly using player money to place sports bets through an illegal broker that is being investigated by federal authorities.
According to various American media reports, everything seems to indicate that a total of 4.5 million dollars they would have out of the player’s bank accounts of the Los Angeles Dodgers, straight to a bookmaker. However, The player affirms that he has absolutely nothing to do with said bank movements.
After the commotion that has arisen in recent days, the Japanese star was forced to call a press conference to try to shed light on the lurid sports scandal.
Ohtani affirms: «I never bet on baseball or any other sport. I never asked anyone to do that on my behalf. I have never gone to a betting house to bet on sports. “I am very sad and surprised that someone I trusted did this.”.
As we can see, the player points towards his translator, and until a few days ago friend, accusing him of steal money from your bank accountsupposedly using it to place sports bets.
From Ohtani’s words it can be deduced that his translator would have access to your bank account and that, without their knowledge, there would stolen an economic sum close to 4.5 million dollars. This has generated a great stir on social networks, confronting those who defend the presumption of innocence of the player and those who consider that their version is, at least,“hard to believe”.
What sanction could you face? Shoei Ohtani?
Major League Baseball has a strong commitment to integrity in sports, as well as to the ethical and professional behavior of all those who make up the sports sphere. Through the well-known «Rule 21» on misconduct, which applies to all managers, coaches, players, referees, clubs and league personnel, a series of behaviors that directly threaten the integrity of sport are classified and sanctioned.
Among them, in addition to the sports bets that we will discuss below, we find behaviors such as: match fixing, bribery of referees or players, violence or misconduct in sport, etc.
When it comes to sports betting, the rule is pretty clear and states that: “any player, umpire or official or employee of any club or league who bets any sum on a baseball game in respect of which the bettor has no duty to perform shall be declared ineligible for one year.”. In the event that the player is part of the match in which he places the bet, «this will be declared permanently ineligible».
Finally, it is also established that “any player, referee or club or official or employee of a League who places bets with illegal bookmakers or with agents of illegal bookmakers, will be subject to the sanction that the Commissioner considers appropriate in view of the facts and circumstances of The conduct”. A bookmaker is defined as “a person who accepts, places or handles bets from the public on sporting events as part of a gaming operation that is illegal in the jurisdiction in which the bets are accepted.”
If the bets had been placed on a sport other than baseball, the sanction could consist of a simple financial fine that would not lead to the suspension of the player.
If it is demonstrated that the Shoei Ohtani would have done the sports bets and that they had been carried out in matches in which the Japanese player had participateda harsh penalty of lifetime suspension to the Japanese star, who would see his sporting career end at the age of 29, right in his prime sporting moment.
Let us remember that the case is being investigated and that the player himself has declared that he has not made any sports bets, neither on baseball nor on any other sport. Therefore, until proven otherwise, the player is innocent.
This is MLB rule 21. If you plan to write or comment professionally on the Ohtani/Mizuhara topic, do yourself a favor and read this first.
You are welcome. pic.twitter.com/nnagHHcs0g— Enrique Rojas/ESPN (@Enrique_Rojas1) March 23, 2024
Has there been any case similar to that of Shoei Ohtani?
Las sanctions for placing sports bets They are not something that has emerged from the hand of the Japanese player.
A few years ago, the American player Jarred Cosart was fined by placing illegal bets on a sport other than baseball. After sports betting was discovered as a result of a series of leaked messages, the investigation concluded by stating that the player had not placed bets on baseball.
In 2021, the Minor League pitcher, Peter Bayerwas suspended for betting on baseball. The Athletic reported that the player would have made more than 100 bets on baseball, including at least 12 in his organizationthe Oakland A’s, as was discovered following an investigation carried out by the league itself.
Now we just have to wait for the investigation to shed light on the matter and we can find out if, indeed, Shoei Ohtani placed sports bets directly or if, on the contrary, was the object of betrayal from the one whom, until a few days ago, he considered his friend.
2024-03-27 14:23:03
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