A few thoughts on the Ohtani press conference:
Contrary to what many commentators are saying, Ohtani didn't simply read from a prepared statement. He had a list of talking points around which he centered his comments but there was plenty of ad-libbing in there.
This is important because it meant that he had to maintain a steady amount of eye contact with the media personnel who had gathered.
A lot of faggots are crying about the fact that he didn't allow any questions, but why would he ? There is an active investigation ongoing which will uncover everything that went down. Ohtani shared more than enough already.
The Pitching Ninja channel dude happens to be an attorney and he made an important point that everyone is ignoring:
In other situations where a person may have been guilty (e.g. Bill Clinton), they simply deny the accusation. In Shohei's case, he's not only denying the accusation but he's pressing charges against Ippei and he's fully cooperating with the authorities.
If there are any holes in his story (both in the public press conference and his statements to the authorities), then Shohei has opened himself up for a world of legal pain. This includes malicious prosecution, defamation, millions in civil damages and opening up criminal liabilities.
At the end of the day, Shohei's legal counsel allowed him to go out with this message and also to press charges against Ippei and to cooperate with the authorities.
If they felt that there was a possibility that Shohei was opening himself up for a world of legal pain, then there is no way in hell that they would let him take these steps.
Lastly, regarding the prior sequence of events with the 90 minute ESPN interview by Ippei and ensuing changing stories, I found the following hypothesis which seemed fascinating:
1. ESPN contacted to Ohtani’s spokesperson regarding Ohtani’s, not Ippei’s, gambling involvement because the account name was Ohtani’s.
2. The spokesperson, who doesn’t speak Japanese, asked Ippei to ask Shohei what’s going on.
3. Ippei never spoke with Shohei about the inquiry and lied to the spokesperson that Shohei sent money for his friend, but later admitted the friend was actually Ippei. The whole time, Shohei didn’t know anything.
4. On 20th, Ippei told ESPN his made-up story. The whole Ohtani camp bought Ippei’s story without confirming with Shohei directly, which was a huge mistake.
5. At the team meeting on the 21st, Ippei told his made-up story in English, so Shohei found something was off but didn’t understand fully. Later that night Ippei told Shohei about gambling and debts for the first time and hoping for his mercy. But Shohei called Nez and told the truth.
6. Dodgers and the agent found out the truth FINALLY, so changed the statement and fired Ippei.
We conveniently forget the army of athletes and celebrities who have been scammed and robbed by their advisors, agents and even family. Bill Joel sued his Manager for $90 Million. Dane Cook's own brother stole millions from him. Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett had a combined $90 Million to $100 Million that was stolen. Manny Pacquiao had all of his Top Rank era money stolen by a network of shady motherfuckers.
None of us have tens of millions in the bank account and none of us have given over signing authority or power of attorney over these accounts to advisors, etc. That's how the "skimming off of the top" happens and money moves to other accounts.
Ippei knew that Shohei entrusted managing finances to him, as he had done with his Mom back in the Nippon Ham Fighters days.
With all of this in mind, I do believe that Shohei is speaking the truth and the ensuing investigation will reflect that.
