Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani (left) and agent Nez Balelo attend the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 21, 2023. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Breaks Silence on Hawaii Lawsuit

Originally posted on Los Angeles Dodgers on SI
By J.P. Hoornstra | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 2:00 PM ET

On Monday, the Associated Press reported that Shohei Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo of Creative Artists Agency, were being sued after Balelo allegedly "demanded the terminations" of two people associated with a Hawaii real estate project endorsed by Ohtani.

After the Dodgers were swept by the Angels on Wednesday in Anaheim, Ohtani was asked if the lawsuit has been a distraction this week.

“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.

The Dodgers star signed on to endorse the 14-home luxury development on the big island of Hawaii before he even played his first game in Los Angeles. Ohtani is still listed as the "first resident" of The Vista at Mauna Kea Resort on the project's website.

This season, Ohtani has played in all but two games, leading Major League Baseball in plate appearances. He's also made nine starts as a pitcher — his first games on the mound since suffering a season-ending elbow injury in 2023.

It stands to reason that Ohtani's focus is on the field, and his performance certainly bears that out. The reigning National League Most Valuable Player is well on the way to claiming the award again in 2025.

Ohtani leads all National League hitters with 43 home runs, a .630 slugging percentage and 1.021 OPS (180 OPS+). As a pitcher, he brought a 2.37 ERA into Wednesday's start against the Angels — his first in Anaheim as a visiting player.

Although Ohtani pitched into the fifth inning for the first time this season, he couldn't get out of a first-and-second, one-out jam. Former teammate Zach Neto pounded a two-run double into left field, sending Ohtani to the showers with four earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched.

That lifted Ohtani's ERA for the season to 3.47. He did not factor into the decision in the Dodgers' 6-5 loss.

Ohtani's relationship to the allegations at the heart of the lawsuit are tenuous.

If it seems like a stretch that Ohtani would be intimately involved in the alleged firings of developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto in July, perhaps it is. But that wouldn't necessarily shield Ohtani from legal liability.

"They’re not alleging that Ohtani did anything, they’re saying his agent did," attorney Arash Sadat of Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP, who reviewed the legal filing, told The Big Lead. "Generally under the law, when somebody’s your agent, you can be held liable for something he did on your behalf. That’s why Ohtani can be held liable. We don’t know Ohtani’s knowledge or the extent of his involvement."

Sadat added it's reasonable to expect Balelo and Ohtani to counter with a motion to dismiss the suit, on the basis that “even if what (they're) claiming is true, (they're) not claiming that anything illegal happened.”

Just don't expect Ohtani to prepare a countersuit and file the paperwork himself.

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Dodgers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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