Lawyers for Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani are using some borderline hilarious reasons to get their client out of being a defendant in a massive class action suit involving the 2022 collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
FTX is a brand that entered the American lexicon for all the wrong reasons last year. The company that held billions in investments from individuals looking to get their part of the digital currency craze filed for bankruptcy after CEO Sam Bankman-Fried badly mismanaged that and another company he owned.
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Crypto exchanges going under isn’t anything new and has happened with some regularity over the last few years. However, FTX stood out more than most because of a notable roster of celebrities that served as brand ambassadors for the company and helped to lure regular folks to invest huge sums of money into the exchange.
When FTX collapsed billions in investments were lost, and the victims of the failed exchange are looking for retribution. That includes pulling those aforementioned celebs into court to pay up for their part in the financial disaster.
Shohei Ohtani stats (2023): .300 AVG, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 2-0 record, 0.47 ERA, 0.947 WHIP
Sports greats like Stephen Curry, Tom Brady, and Shaquille O’Neal are some of the famous defendants in the ongoing lawsuit. So is Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani. On Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported on lawyers for the Japanese baseball player’s attempts to have him and others dismissed from the suit.
In the filing, Shohei Ohtani joined fellow defendants Curry, actor Larry David, and tennis star Naomi Osaka in claiming the court Florida court where the suit is being held has no jurisdiction over them since they don’t live in the state and did not conduct business for FTX aimed specifically at Florida residents. Ohtani has a home in Tokyo, Japan, and rents an apartment in California.
However, lawyers for Shohei Ohtani are also claiming a language barrier for him should further prove he should have no part in the suit. They allege he made a deal with FTX to use his name, image, and likeness in its marketing in Japan. Furthermore, since he says he only makes public statements in Japanese, he can’t be held accountable for endorsements in the state of Florida which would have had to be in English.
Lakers great Shaquille O’Neal has actively tried to avoid being served for the suit, which shows how badly these stars want no part of the messy situation from the FX bankruptcy.