The Dodgers have fired Ippei Mizuhara, the long-time interpreter of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, amid allegations of gambling debts and ‘massive theft,’ ESPN’s Tisha Thompson reported Wednesday.
The dismissal comes after at least $4.5 million in wire transfers were sent from Ohtani’s bank account to a Southern California bookmaking operation that’s now under federal investigation, according to ESPN. Mizuhara incurred the debts by betting on soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football, but never on baseball, according to comments he made to ESPN.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Ohtani at Berk Brettler LLP issued the following statement to ESPN.
“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.”
Sports betting is illegal in California.
“I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting,” Mizuhara told ESPN. “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.”
The report comes just hours after the Dodgers played the first-ever regular season MLB game in South Korea, defeating the San Diego Padres 5-2 in the first of two games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. Mizuhara was in attendance working with Ohtani.
