"I don’t think the Ohtani situation is really over with yet” - Pete Rose believes MLB's 'poster child' Shohei Ohtani isn't in clear yet

Pete Rose, who is banned from the MLB for life for gambling on games, spoke about the Shohei Ohtani controversy. After the Japanese superstar's translator and longtime friend Ippei Mizuhari was fired and accused of stealing to fund illegal gambling, the crosshairs briefly turned on Ohtani.

Rose is intimately familiar with illegal gambling on sports, and he had his take on the situation. What Rose doesn't have is an excuse, as he owned up to his wrongdoings on the Bret Boone podcast.

“I was wrong when I made the mistake of doing what I did but they’re not going to do anything to Ohtani, he’s the poster child for baseball,” he said. “If you screw with Ohtani, you don’t want to lose those $130 million Japanese fans that Ohtani has following baseball because of Ohtani.”

He continued, admitting that he himself is unsure of what exactly happened.

“I don’t know what the guy did. I don’t know if he did this or did that,” Rose said. “I don’t know if Ohtani loves to gamble or not; I guess his interpreter liked to gamble.”

Rose believes prosecution could force Mizuhari to "sing like a canary", which could reveal even more information about the scandal. He added:

"I don’t think baseball and the Ohtani situation is really over with yet."

The former Cincinnati Reds star said he did hope that Ohtani was clean since he's so important to the league and the sport.

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Pete Rose understands gambling temptations

When Pete Rose was gambling on games, it was harder to do so and much harder to get away with. In the last half-decade, gambling has become almost irrevocably intertwined with the sport, as promotions and more continue to blur the lines.

Pete Rose is banned for gambling

Rose said he understands why some players might be drawn to break the rules:

"I can see the temptations for players based on how easy it is. You can go to the ballpark now and go up to a window at the ballpark and bet on the game. No bookmakers are involved. It’s all legal, which I don’t know if it’s good or bad for the game. I can’t figure it out.”

The former Reds legend and MLB's all-time hits leader isn't even sure whether or not all this gambling is a positive thing for sports.