Getting Shohei Ohtani Talking Is The Right Move

The controversy about Major League Baseball’s best, most versatile and highest-paid player, Shohei Ohtani, 29, shares one characteristic with the 2024 presidential election. Each illustrates an obstacle communicators face repeatedly – getting people to listen; the public sometimes forms its opinion long before PR pros can develop a story. 

For instance, while the election is months away, most voters already know the party they’ll support. They probably knew a year or so ago. And few states are in play and an election thrown to Congress also is decided, though by just one vote. Still, the sole question from now until November is how a relatively small group of allegedly undecideds will vote, or not.  

Likewise, just one inning into an issue where few facts are known, multiple stories are circulating and the main characters haven’t spoken, a lot of baseball fans have rendered a final judgment on Ohtani. He’s got a gambling problem, plenty of people are certain. This follows reports that Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired abruptly March 20. People in this camp explain the firing as Baseball covering for its star player’s weakness. 

Fans on the other side of this controversy are convinced Ohtani is innocent, or more appropriately an innocent (more below) who naively allowed Mizuhara use of his bank account. These people believe Mizuhara, not Ohtani, has, er, a yen for wagering. End of story, they say. 

But not, really. Why not?

Where’s The Truth?

First, in a surprise move announced Sunday evening (March 24), Ohtani will meet the media today. It won’t be easy. That’s because in just a few days this crisis has spawned several narratives. 

On the other hand, Ohtani is known for handling double duty in baseball, the unheard-of feat of pitching and hitting (he’s also a lightning-fast runner). It’s likely he can dispense with multiple false narratives.

Initially, Ohtani’s camp said Mizuhara stole $4.5 million from the superstar’s bank account so he could repay gambling debts. Worse, he’d made bets with an illegal bookmaker, Matthew Bowyer, whom the FBI is investigating. Not long after these reports appeared, Ohtani’s employer, the Los Angeles Dodgers, said it fired Mizuhara, but gave no reason, an error in crisis communication circles.

Yet an ESPN story March 19 had Mizuhara receiving money from a willing Ohtani for the debt payment, per an Ohtani representative. In that story, Ohtani was aware of funds transferring from his account. This version had Ohtani helping his friend with a large gambling debt.  

In fact, ESPN’s Tuesday report had Ohtani, not Mizuhara, transferring funds to cover his friend’s nut. However, the next day Mizuhara told ESPN Ohtani was unaware of his gambling debts or efforts to cover them. That version of the story seemed in line with a statement March 20 from a PR firm working for Ohtani saying that Mizuhara stole millions from their client.  

Baseball’s Gambling Guilt

The second reason the story isn’t finished is because Ohtani and Baseball may encounter a cynical court of public opinion. As PR pros say, “look at the optics.” Indeed, the sport’s optics make an Ohtani-like incident inevitable, the argument goes. That’s because despite the game’s prohibition on baseball players gambling on baseball, the sport, in all other respects, embraces betting. 

Gambling companies are among Major League Baseball’s most prominent sponsors. Their ads fill radio and television coverage, as do odds on teams winning, home runs, runs scored etc. This year when fans check their phones for scores of games in progress, they’ll also see odds. 

And since mid-last season, fans attending games of the Washington Nationals could place bets without missing much action on the field – there’s a sports book conveniently located inside Nationals Park. The sign inside every Major League Baseball locker room warning inhabitants that gambling is prohibited seems a quaint anachronism. Perhaps this partially explains Baseball’s initial silence on the Ohtani matter. The less said about gambling and baseball, the better, right? 

Baseball’s Communication Plan 

And speaking of anachronism, the PR army working for Ohtani’s employer, the Los Angeles Dodgers, is busy crafting a narrative that Ohtani is who you thought he was just a few days ago – a baseball superstar obsessed with the game whose preparation leaves him little time for other things, including gambling. As with election narratives, will anyone listen?

Adding a level of difficulty for the PR pros working this issue is that Ohtani abhors publicity. That the reticent athlete will speak with media today about the situation is a tremendous victory for his crisis communication team. It’s also the correct move PR-wise. 

Provide your narrative or others will fill the air with their version of your story. PR pros have seen this thousands of times. The most recent example being the intrusive, sometimes tasteless stories that circulated around the future queen of England for weeks. Much but certainly not all the hot air was removed from that unfortunate crisis with a video Friday,  when the Princess of Wales explained her story. Ohtani’s camp clearly likely took notes.

Though he smiles a lot and seems friendly, Ohtani, guards his privacy almost as much as the royals. As a result, perhaps the sport’s best story since Babe Ruth – Ohtani hits mammoth home runs AND is one of the game’s best pitchers – is barely known off the sports pages.

As such, even the smallest item about Ohtani results in a story. Examples include coverage that swirled off the sports pages about the name of his dog and the surprise when Ohtani revealed on social media that he is married (Ohtani, not the pooch). Incidentally, the intensely private Ohtani didn’t include his bride’s name in the post. 

Privacy a Plus 

On the other hand, the privacy angle could help the Dodgers-Ohtani PR team as it circulates stories about its star client. PR will portray Ohtani as an innocent man-child. Pitching these stories will be cake. Since the public knows so little about him, media will kill for a morsel of Ohtani’s cake. 

As such, in coming weeks, myriad media outlets will carry stories of Ohtani trivia. His diet, exercise regime, even Ohtani’s sleep schedule. He dozes almost 10 hours nightly and adds a 2-hour nap before games. At home he rests on a high-end mattress from Japan, whose manufacturer has gathered thousands of data points about its famous customer and endorser. 

Moreover, sleep is such a crucial element in his training regime that Ohtani has a special portable mattress that travels with him. 

(Though the sleep item predates the gambling story, it’s a convenient detail – with all that sleeping and ballplaying, Ohtani couldn’t possibly find time to study odds and place bets, right? He’s gotta be innocent!) 

Another positive is that Ohtani’s image as a non-gambler gets an assist from how he handled his 10-year, $700 million contract. He deferred much of the money for years, allowing his team the resources to sign fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto. You can hear the talking point: No gambler defers millions.  

A PR Problem or Two 

However, from a crisis communication viewpoint, several things are working against the Ohtani-is-innocent narrative. First, as noted above, the story has changed several times. Could another version emerge during today’s press conference? 

Second, the Dodgers and Major League Baseball essentially have remained silent on a story about the sport’s most intriguing player that still contains loads of questions. Knowing Ohtani’s penchant for privacy, it’s not a surprise he’s not said anything before today. After addressing the Dodgers March 19 and admitting his gambling woes, Mizuhara has remained wordless, too, though his media profile is growing. 

Ohtani remaining quiet would have been the biggest gamble of all. While medical and legal situations require a certain amount of silence from involved parties, Baseball, the Dodgers and Ohtani are making the correct move today.