Shohei Ohtani just broke his silence on the gambling scandal surrounding his former interpreter, and the Dodgers star was adamant he never placed any sports bets.
The 29-year-old Shohei Ohtani addressed the media on Monday afternoon for the first time since Ippei Mizuhara was fired for allegedly using some of the baseball player’s funds to gamble with an illegal bookmaker.
Shohei Ohtani told reporters through his new translator, Will Ireton, that he had no idea what was going on with the situation up until a team meeting following the Dodgers’ first game of the season last week in Korea.
He said Ippei was stealing money from his account and using it to pay off debts, and then lying to him and others about Ohtani’s involvement in it all.
“I’m very saddened and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this,” Ohtani said.
Ohtani who didn’t take any questions during the meeting with reporters, added that he “never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker.”
Mizuhara who worked as Ohtani’s translator for nearly a decade, was fired by LA back on March 20, after Ohtani’s attorneys accused him of stealing from the Dodgers star and gambling with the money.
The allegations were interesting to say the least … considering that, initially, Mizuhara had said in an interview with ESPN that Ohtani gave him the funds in order to cover his gambling debt.
However, Mizuhara recanted that story hours later.
“I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting,” Mizuhara said. “I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again.”
Mizuhara first began working with Ohtani after the baseball player signed with the Angels following a historic career in Japan. He was hired by the Dodgers just after the two-way player inked a 10-year, $700 million contract with LA this offseason.