When Howie Rose said that the New York Media wouldn’t stand for Shohei Ohtani snubbing reporters, he wasn’t kidding around.
Right from the start, Michael Kay has been skeptical of the Los Angeles Dodgers star regarding the gambling scheme that entangled his translator. Even though investigators have cleared Ohtani of wrongdoing, the New York Yankees announcer believes he should still face the music.
A listener named Ken in Connecticut called into Kay’s ESPN New York radio show on Tuesday, questioning the media’s sudden silence on a story that dominated headlines only two weeks prior.
“The most unbelievable thing to me is that fans don’t care about this,” said Kay. “The guy has never had to take questions on this — not once!”
Despite maintaining his innocence from the get-go and continuing to play throughout the investigation, Ohtani’s press conference appearance left a bad taste in Kay’s mouth. He delivered a prepared statement but dodged questions from reporters, leaving them unanswered. And Kay seems to think that Ohtani’s silence, despite being cleared, raises questions about his own accountability.
“What other athlete, in any professional sport, would be allowed to remain mum — not say a word other than a prepared statement and never take a question,” added Kay. “‘Did you gamble on baseball?'”
Not many — if any — and certainly not in New York.
According to Don La Greca, Kay’s co-host on The Michael Kay Show, baseball’s regional nature has shielded Ohtani despite him being an international superstar. And in MLB, fans tend to be laser-focused on their own teams, paying little or no mind to league-wide scandals.
But Kay remains unconvinced, raising the question of why Ohtani hasn’t been held accountable for answering reporters’ questions.
“It’s just amazing to me, after every kind of tough loss, Francisco Lindor talks, Aaron Judge talks, Juan Soto — the biggest stars in the world,” Kay continued. “This guy doesn’t have to answer a question? And he’s in the middle of what could be one of the biggest scandals in baseball history, and he has not answered a question…I have never heard of a superstar just completely being allowed to ignore and, in effect, ignore the fans, too. It’s amazing to me. And you know who started it? The Angels. They let him get away with it. And the Dodgers — this is what it’s been — they let him get away with it.”
It should be noted that Kay’s remarks were made before reports that a federal investigation found that Ohtani was in the dark. But that doesn’t take away from his original point that Ohtani should have to face the music and answer questions from reporters at some point. And now that he’s reportedly been cleared of any wrongdoing, he should be able to provide those answers. But will he?
Although investigators revealed that Ohtani’s interpreter was dishonest and Ohtani himself was unaware, there are lingering questions about how $4 million was withdrawn from his account without his or his representatives’ knowledge.
It’s a fair question and one that should be answered, especially since Ohtani is reportedly in the clear.
