Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani addressed the media live Monday for the first time since the gambling and theft allegations involving his former interpreter surfaced last week.
Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter, was fired by the Dodgers last week after reports of his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and claims from attorneys that Ohtani had been the victim of a “massive theft.”
“(I am) very sad and shocked that someone who I trusted has done this,” Ohtani said Monday through his new interpreter, Will Ireton.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sports, never asked somebody to do it on my behalf, never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports.”
While Mizuhara and Ohtani’s representatives initially claimed the two-way player was aware of his interpreter’s gambling debts and had transferred him money, the story later changed to one of no knowledge or involvement on Ohtani’s part.
“Up until a couple days ago I didn’t know this was happening,” said Ohtani. “Ippei has been stealing from my account and telling lies.”
“The first time I knew about Ippei’s gambling was after the first game (in South Korea) when we had a team meeting in the clubhouse. Up until that team meeting i didn’t know Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in debt. I never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker.”
According to Ohtani, Mizhura later admitted in a one-on-one meeting at the Dodgers’ hotel that he was sending money using Ohtani’s account to the bookmaker.
To conclude the press conference, Ohtani said, “I’m beyond shocked, it’s really hard to verbalize how I’m feeling at this point … I’m looking forward to focusing on the season.”
It has been reported that at least $4.5 million was withdrawn via wire transfer from Ohtani’s bank accounts.
Major League Baseball and the United States’ Internal Revenue Service have opened investigations into the matter.
According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, it was Ohtani’s decision to address the allegations publicly.
