Los Angeles Sports Fans Are Bewildered by Gambling Scandal

It’s Friday. Angelenos say they’re bewildered after the Los Angeles Dodgers fired the interpreter of Shohei Ohtani, a star player, over a gambling scandal. Plus, a deeper look at new laws to address the intertwined crises of mental illness and homelessness in California.

Fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers were elated in December when Shohei Ohtani, the two-way baseball superstar with a squeaky-clean image, struck a blockbuster deal to join the team.

At $700 million over 10 years, it made Ohtani the highest paid baseball player ever. Fans were even more thrilled by the fact that he agreed to defer most of that salary to free up money for the team to build a winning squad around him.

Although Ohtani had been famous for years, including during his previous six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels and when he played in the Japanese professional league before that, his stardom reached another level with the Dodgers. He immediately vaulted into position as the face of not just the franchise but also of Major League Baseball. Billboards and murals have appeared across the city featuring the pitcher and slugger in Dodger blue.

Now, after bombshell reporting by ESPN and The Los Angeles Times this week that places Ohtani near the center of a gambling scandal involving his longtime interpreter and close friend, many fans say they’re bewildered — but withholding judgment until more information emerges.