Shohei Ohtani, in his first public comments since his longtime interpreter was fired amid allegations of “massive theft,” expressed profound sadness and shock. His words conveyed the weight of the situation, leaving no doubt about the impact it had on him.
Ohtani, a two-way superstar, read a statement today addressing the gambling scandal and the “massive theft” accusations against his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. He read the statement in Japanese, translated into English by new interpreter Will Ireton, for about 12 minutes. Despite the turmoil, Ohtani remained steadfast in his denials about betting on sports and confirmed the timeline provided by his representatives.
“The first time I knew about Ippei’s gambling was after the first game (in Korea) when we had the team meeting in the clubhouse.” He said up until that meeting, he had no idea that Mizuhara had a gambling addiction or was in debt. Later, Ohtani and Mizuhara had a one-on-one conversation at the hotel, and that was when he learned about the debt. Ohtani claimed Mizuhara admitted that he was “sending money,” using Ohtani’s account, “to the bookmaker.” That was when Ohtani contacted his representatives.
Shohei Ohtani Addresses Interpreter Gambling Scandal
Shohei’s name surfaced in a Los Angeles Times investigation of Orange County resident Mathew Bowyer. This led Ohtani’s team to investigate the matter and discover Mizuhara’s alleged theft to bet with Bowyer. Sources told ESPN that at least $4.5 million in wire transfers were sent from Ohtani’s bank account to a Southern California bookmaking operation.
Mizuhara allegedly told representatives for Ohtani and the Dodgers that Ohtani paid off his debt on behalf of a friend. Ohtani was adamant that he “never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker.”
Initially, a spokesperson for Ohtani told ESPN that he willingly transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debts. The spokesperson arranged an interview between Mizuhara and ESPN on Tuesday, but that version of events was disputed the next day. On Wednesday, Ohtani’s legal team released a statement saying, “Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft.” That afternoon, the Los Angeles Dodgers fired Ippei Mizuhara, who had been Ohtani’s interpreter since 2018.
Since Mizuhara was still translating and communicating on Ohtani’s behalf, he insinuated that the story had changed because Mizuhara had not been entirely truthful. He said, “I have been telling everybody around that Ippei has been communicating with Shohei on all of this account—to my representatives, to the team—and that hasn’t been true.”
Later Ohtani became visibly emotional, struggling to find words to express his shock and sadness. He ended his statement with a hopeful note, saying, “I’m Looking forward to focusing on the season. I’m glad we had this opportunity to talk, and I’m sure there will be continuing investigations moving forward.”
Main Photo Credits: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
