Shohei Ohtani said Monday that he never bet on sports or knowingly paid any gambling debts accumulated by his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Instead, the Los Angeles Dodgers star claims his close friend lied to him for years and stole millions from the two-time MVP, the AP reports. Ohtani gave his version of events at Dodger Stadium, five days after Mizuhara was fired by the team following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well over $1 million.
"I am very saddened and shocked someone whom I trusted has done this," the Japanese star said while sitting next to Will Ireton, the team's manager of performance operations, who translated. "Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies," Ohtani said. "I never bet on sports or have willfully sent money to the bookmaker." Ohtani spoke for nearly 12 minutes in a small room packed with dozens of reporters, describing several ways in which Mizuhara deceived him, per the AP. Ohtani read quickly in Japanese from a document and did not take questions. Photographers were barred.
Ohtani and Mizuhara had been daily companions since Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Angels in 2018 until last week, when Mizuhara's gambling became public. Ohtani is beginning his first season with the Dodgers. The IRS has confirmed that Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation. "To summarize how I am feeling right now, I am just beyond shocked," Ohtani said. "It is really hard to verbalize how I am feeling at this point. The season is going to start, so I am going to let my lawyers handle matters from here on out. I am completely assisting in all investigations that are taking place right now." Ohtani was in the lineup for an exhibition game against the Angels on Monday night.
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