MLB agent has a fiery take on Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal

Where's the money, Lebowski? While MLB might have the wrong dude, man, the Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal has everyone in the sports world's undivided attention. The reigning AL MVP is in the midst of an embarrassing gambling catastrophe involving his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. This came right before the start of Ohtani's first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Unbelievable.

For as comical as it is sad, one thing is for sure. What a terrible moment for baseball. Two generations ago, baseball's all-time hit leader Pete Rose admitted to betting on the game. It cost the Cincinnati Reds legend the Hall of Fame. Now with Ohtani either paying for his interpreter's gambling debts, having him place bets for him or some other wagering nonsense, there is no other way around this.

One anonymous player agent offered the following to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports.

"It's embarrassing what's happening right now. This is supposed to be a great time, getting ready for the season, and we're going through this. It's ugly."

With legalized sports gambling becoming more and more present in the United States of America, it has become abundantly clear that some people are above their games' golden rule: Don't bet on games in the league you play in! There are plenty of other sports and leagues and things to bet on besides the one that pays you, either in the form of massive contracts or scholarships over in college.

With Opening Day rapidly approaching, this is all we can talk about. Baseball can never get it right...

Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is yet another black eye on baseball

I understand that people who are into this sort of thing will find ways to gamble, legal or not. I also understand that leagues like MLB, the NBA and the NFL need to find ways to grow the pie for their owners, especially in a world of cord-cutting, live streaming and emerging super leagues. However, this doesn't have to be this hard. Maybe not advertise it like you do alcohol? You can still get tobacco.

At this time, I think we need to have an honest conversation with ourselves. Is this really good for us? Gambling is a vice, one that has the potential to ruin people's lives and destroy families. Everything in moderation, they say. Well, let's not push this around as shamelessly as big pharma does with whatever variation of poison they are trying to get Nana to take. Of course, we cannot trust Congress.

After all, they love insider trading like fresh air to help boost and protect their stock portfolios in ways the common man can never even comprehend. Well, enough high-horse nonsense from me. I'm not holier than thou; I'm just another dude, man. The Japanese superstar is not the issue here. It's the people like MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred putting FTX on umpire's uniforms before SBF went belly up.

Ohtani never asked for this, but the spotlight is even bigger on him now that he plays for the Dodgers.