Rob Manfred has the worst possible response to Shohei Ohtani, Ippei Mizuhara scandal

Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, remains under investigation by the proper authorities. Mizuhara stole millions of dollars from Ohtani, a two-way star who has taken MLB by storm the last few years. Ohtani already has two MVPs to his name, and because of that signed a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers this past winter.

Unfortunately, Ohtani didn't have much time to celebrate his new deal in spring training, as he and Mizuhara were thrust into the spotlight thanks to gambling allegations. Ohtani never gambled, especially on baseball, per MLB and authorities. Mizuhara did use Ohtani's funds to pay off some debts, however, and allegedly did so illegally.

Rob Manfred speaks on sports gambling. Ippei Mizuhara scandal

Meanwhile, MLB's relationship with sports betting continues to expand. Like most professional sports leagues in the United States, MLB has used casinos and online gambling companies for profit as betting has been made legal in much of the country. While you and I may see the obvious conflict -- especially when a gambling scandal impacted MLB's greatest star -- commissioner Rob Manfred doesn't understand the problem.

"We haven't had a player that was involved," Manfred told the media when asked about sports gambling. "When you have problems in our sport or in other sports, it makes you refocus your efforts but we really do think that our integrity program -- in terms of the monitoring and data available to us -- protect the sport."

Rob Manfred is a hypocrite for comments on sports gambling

Manfred can no longer say "we haven't had anyone involved" because that would be a lie. Eventually, as the NFL found out the hard way, players will be caught gambling on sports. It's only a matter of time, especially as the stigma goes away. Manfred is particularly against prop bets, as baseball is such an individualistic sport. Giving players that kind of control wouldn't benefit MLB.

"We've been on prop bets from the very beginning. When we lobby in states, there's always certain types of bets that we have lobbied against -- I mean, the first pitch of the game, we really don't want that available as a prop bet," Manfred said. 

Professional sports leagues in the U.S. have embraced sports gambling because of the money it brings in. Capital solves all, and while Manfred talks a big game, you can bet he won't turn down the opportunity to add to the league's value.