Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has spoken for the first time since the dismissal of his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, and he firmly denied betting on baseball or other sports, while also accusing Mizuhara of lying and stealing money from his account.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sorts and have never asked someone to do so on my behalf and have never bet through a bookmaker,” Shohei Ohtani said through Will Ireton, a long-standing member of the Dodgers organization, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. “Until a couple of days ago, I didn't know this was happening. … Ippei has stolen money from my account and told lies.”
Ohtani also said that Mizuhara told him that he was the one sending the payments from Ohtani's account, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Ohtani added that Mizuhara never told him that reporters had reached out about the bank transfers.
“All of this has been a complete lie,” Ohtani said, via Ardaya.
Ohtani went on to say that he had no knowledge of Mizuhara's gambling until the team meeting with the Dodgers in Seoul, South Korea. He said that while Mizuhara was speaking in English and he could not fully understand what he was saying, he could tell that “something was amiss,” according to Ardaya.
Additionally, Ohtani made it clear that he never agreed to make payments for Mizuhara, saying, “I never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker,” according to Ardaya.
What is next for Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers and MLB?
For Ohtani, he made it clear what he will be doing next, and that is cooperating with the investigation while focusing on the regular season fully starting up with the Dodgers this week. He said, “I am just beyond shocked” and went on to say that he will let his lawyers handle things from here on out, and he is “completely assisting” in all investigations, according to Ardaya.
For the Dodgers, they will hit the field on Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium for their home opener and try to perform on the field as the investigation unfolds.
MLB's investigation will be ongoing, as well as the federal investigation. We will have to wait for the findings to figure out if Ohtani is telling the truth. Regardless, Ohtani is firm in his assertion that he did nothing wrong. Still, there are some questions that some will ask.
One question is how did Mizuhara have access to Ohtani's account to make payments? The two were incredibly close. That will be a key factor in what potentially surfaces from investications.
Another question is how did Mizuhara's bookie let him build up $4.5 million in gambling debt? That is a mystery, but many would expect someone like Mizuhara to be cut off far before building up that much debt. Only the bookie knows that answer for sure.
This was Ohtani's one chance to truthfully tell his side of the story before the findings from the investigations come out. Until then, Ohtani and the Dodgers will turn their focus to the diamond and look to achieve their World Series aspirations.
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