S
hohei Ohtani's name has been making headlines for more than just his impressive baseball skills. The baseball superstar hit his 42nd and 43rd home runs of the season on Monday and Tuesday, but a lawsuit filed in Hawaii Circuit Court last Friday has put him at the center of controversy. Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and Tomoko Matsumoto, a real estate investor and broker, claim that Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, used their influence to get them fired from a $240 million luxury housing development on the Hapuna Coast.

    According to the lawsuit, Ohtani and Balelo allegedly "used threats and baseless legal claims" to force Hayes and Matsumoto's business partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, to drop them from the project. The two men had been working on the project since 2013 and claim that they had reached an agreement with Ohtani and Balelo in 2023 to use the player as a celebrity endorser.

    Kingsbarn has denied the allegations, calling them "completely frivolous and without merit." However, large parts of the lawsuit are redacted, making it unclear whether Ohtani was directly involved in the alleged behavior. This is not the first time Ohtani has faced off-field legal issues as a Dodgers player; he previously fired his interpreter after discovering that they had misappropriated $16.59 million to repay illegal gambling debts.

    Despite these controversies, Ohtani's performance on the field remains impressive. He currently leads the National League in home runs and is one of the top contenders for the MVP award. His 43rd home run of the season put him at the top of the NL leaderboard, with Cal Raleigh leading overall MLB with 45 home runs.