It wasn’t just the power harassment issue: …… Rakuten feared Tomohiro Anraku’s “woman scandal”.

On November 30, former Rakuten pitcher Tomohiro Anraku (27) was accused of power harassment by several current players, and on November 30, team president Tomoyuki Morii (49) held a press conference to apologize, and Anraku was released from his contract on December 1.

The team held the press conference reluctantly because the press had been making strong requests for a sincere response from the team on a daily basis. I heard that the person who resisted until the very end was the head of public relations, who decided to remain silent and let his subordinates explain the situation, despite the fact that some denounced the team’s handling of the scandal during the press conference. (A staff member of a sports program at a Tokyo-based TV station)

At the press conference, team president Morii stated, “Yasuraku has offered to apologize directly to the players,” but team officials have rejected the offer, saying that it could cause secondary damage.

Many of the players have rejected the offer, saying, ‘I don’t even want to see his face. Rather than apologies from Anraku, the team should investigate whether other current players and officials are complicit in the power harassment. Senior director Kazuhisa Ishii (50), who was in charge of organization and field supervision, should also be held accountable for his management.

Why did the team immediately release him from his contract, even though he was their main pitcher? According to another baseball team official, it was because “there was a possibility that he had other bombs in his pocket.

According to another baseball team official, “There was a complaint that Yasura was having trouble with women, and the team had been receiving complaints. The team had been taking precautions, but it is possible that they feared that the women would file charges en masse in the wake of the power harassment revelations.”

According to this source, Anraku approached women in various ways, including picking up women in Sendai, where his home base is, and on his tours.

There was also “trouble” in his hometown of Ehime. Yasura is a superstar from a strong local school, Saemi High School. Because of his high name recognition and popularity, he was naturally treated more favorably than when he was in Sendai. He would find a girl he liked from among the fans who attended events, observed his training sessions, or followed him on SNS, and send her a direct message saying, “This is Rakuten’s Yasuraku. Let’s have fun!

It is said that he also targeted announcers and female staff members of local TV stations who came to interview him, and that many women had a hard time coping with his persistent approach.

I wonder if the team’s decision to immediately release him on a free contract was a wise one. ……