SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is nicknamed in Japan “kanpeki no hito” — the perfect person — because of his impeccable manners and behavior.
However, Ohtani’s image could take a hit after the Dodgers fired his good friend and performer Ippei Mizuhara on Wednesday due to allegations that he gambled illegally and stole Ohtani’s money to pay off debts. debts.
The law firm representing Ohtani called it “massive theft” in a statement.
The first games of the MLB season in South Korea were supposed to be a showcase for Ohtani in front of a growing baseball audience in Asia. The games between San Diego and Los Angeles were scheduled before he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December. For MLB, the stars seemed perfectly aligned and there is already talk of a similar series next year in Tokyo.
A bomb threat on Wednesday briefly overshadowed the series. Police were alerted before the first match to the presence of a bomb in the stadium, but found no explosives. Ohtani was allegedly the target.
Then came the other bombshell for Ohtani…
“I was shocked when I read it,” said Jorge Kuri, a die-hard Dodgers fan from Tijuana, Mexico, who runs a clothing business in that city.
Wearing a blue Dodgers jersey and cap at the Gocheok Sky Dome, Kuri said he was trying to sort through the information circulating. He explained that he was returning from a vacation in Japan, “where Ohtani is king.”
“I don’t know how this is going to end, because I think it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” he added. For now, he’s the face of MLB. »
Mizuhara, 39, was fired from the team following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker. He was in the dugout and with the team during Wednesday’s game – the shocking news broke Wednesday night in the United States, while most fans in Asia were asleep.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Mizuhara met with the team Wednesday, but would not provide further details. He added that he did not know where Mizuhara was and said another interpreter would be used.
“I can’t comment on this meeting,” Roberts said, adding that “Shohei is ready. I know he’s getting ready. »
Ohtani did not practice on the field before Thursday’s game. In his absence, his face appeared on the video board promoting a line of Japanese cosmetics.
He didn’t seem fazed a few hours later, in his first game, when he hit a single to right field.
Mizuhara is likely to be investigated by U.S. authorities and MLB, and the whole story is a stunning turn for the man who has been inseparable from Ohtani since the star arrived in the United States in 2017. He told ESPN this week that Ohtani knew nothing about his illegal betting on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football.
According to Mizuhara, Ohtani was an innocent victim of his close friend’s gambling addiction.
As long as Ohtani is not directly accused of illegal betting, the allegations will not significantly harm his carefully crafted public image, said Lee Seung-yun, a marketing professor at Konkuk University in Seoul.
“Ohtani’s image is like clean white porcelain, and that could make a stain appear bigger than it is,” he said. These days, news travels with astonishing speed, stories are created before the truth is established, and if Ohtani was considered a dubious character, the allegations would have really hurt him. »
“But his image is so strong and impeccable, and until he is directly implicated, the allegations could just be a blip,” Lee added.
Lee Jong-Sung, a sports culture expert at Seoul’s Hanyang University, said Ohtani’s image to fans around the world, including South Koreans, was that of a mysterious monk who “s ‘is all about a religion called baseball.’
He said the allegations Mizuhara has faced so far can only reinforce that impression of Ohtani – a person driven by perfection in baseball, but more naive and simple-hearted in other areas.
“It’s a problem we often see among athletes: they trust people they’ve known for a long time and feel comfortable with too much, and they don’t know when they’re being taken advantage of. “, said Lee Jong-Sung.
2024-03-21 22:31:40
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