Report: Sports Has A Big Problem

An NBA superstar said sports gambling has reduced him from a human to another line on a prop bet. Another star basically accused refs of point-shaving. Two NBA coaches leading contending teams separately said gamblers had threatened players and, in one instance, families, for failing to cover the spread. A Jacksonville Jaguars employee with an alleged gambling problem was sentenced to prison after being convicted of stealing $22 million from the team, and a prominent gambling watchdog company is investigating Temple University’s men’s basketball team after noticing telltale signs of point-shaving.

But Shohei Ohtani’s accidental—fans hope and pray—stumble into what is currently the fringes of a massive gambling probe is more existential for sports than all the rest combined.  Here is the evidence right now. 

The Dodgers’ multihyphenate found his name tied up in a federal gambling probe after his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was investigated for his part in it. Mizuhara told ESPN, reportedly in agreement with Ohtani’s camp, that the star covered his $4.5 million debt as a generous “loan” to his friend. 

Nice story, but also one that, as told, likely broke multiple federal statutes according to Front office Sports.   Lawyer and baseball writer Craig Calcatera notes that those laws likely include the Wire Act, the Illegal Gambling Business Act, the Travel Act, and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act—and that’s before considering how he’s run afoul with league policy. 

Mizuhara insists Ohtani was uninvolved with his gambling problem. But if you’ve ever known a problem gambler—and Mizuhara described himself as an “addict” in a clubhouse meeting getting ahead of the reporting to come—you’ll understand they hit on the truth about as much as they do on those 14-leg parlays.

Right now the league’s hopes rest on Ohtani sincerely being unaware of millions flowing out of his own bank accounts, despite an inconsistent story and robust paper trail. However the scandal plays out, it’s the inevitable result of a betting environment that U.S. sports has rapidly embraced without paying heed to its consequences.