Shohei Ohtani finds himself involved in another off-the-field scandal as the Los Angeles Dodgers enter a crucial part of their schedule.
It came to light this week that the two-way star and agent Nez Balelo are being sued by a pair of Hawaii-based real estate developers.
The plaintiffs, Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and Tomoko Matsumoto, claim they were forced out of a $240 million luxury housing development project that Ohtani was going to serve as a spokesperson for. The lawsuit alleges Ohtani also was expected to purchase one of the residences to utilize as an offseason home in the Mauna Kea Resort.
However, it appears the dispute has more to do with Balelo as he allegedly went to the real estate developers’ business parter and threatened litigation if they weren’t removed from the project.
This type of lawsuit is commonly seen in the real estate world and considered by some to be nothing out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, Ohtani was included as a defendant due to his association with Balelo.
It’s the second time in as many years that Ohtani finds himself in the spotlight for non-baseball reasons. He was questioned last year for his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara’s, involvement in an illegal gambling scandal.
Ohtani was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing in a federal investigation, but said the incident cause him to lose sleep over being falsely implicated. Ohtani moved past the scandal and went on to earn the National League MVP Award while helping the Dodgers win the 2024 World Series.
Shohei Ohtani comments on lawsuit
Ohtani pitched a season-high 4.1 innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday and was one night removed from hitting his 43rd home run of the year.
“I’m focused on what the team is doing and doing everything in my power to make sure we bring a ‘W’ on the field,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton when asked if the Hawaii real estate lawsuit had been any sort of distraction.
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