Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani will confront the media on Monday about the gambling controversy swirling around his friend and former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.
The Dodgers confirmed that Ohtani will speak about the matter on Monday.
Lawyers representing Otani claim that Mizuhara accumulated $4.5 million in debt through illegal gambling and stole money from Otani to pay it off.
Mizuhara was released by the Dodgers last week. report His gambling excesses began to take shape. Specifically, Mizuhara is accused of placing bets on sports other than baseball with a bookmaker named Matthew Bowyer.
Ippei Mizuhara, who serves as an interpreter for Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels, stands in the dugout during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on April 22, 2022 in Anaheim, California. (Jane Kamin Onsia/Getty Images)
California remains one of 12 states where sports betting is illegal.
Mizuhara initially admitted betting on sports other than baseball, but claimed he did not know the bets were illegal. Mr. Mizuhara then said that Mr. Otani sent him money by wire to cover his $4.5 million gambling debt. However, Mizuhara told ESPN last Wednesday that Ohtani did not know about the gambling debt and that he did not send any money.
Speculation about Ohtani’s involvement in the controversy is rife, as there appear to be troubling inconsistencies in the chain of events. People mainly want to know how Ohtani didn’t notice that $4.5 million was missing from his account. Second, and perhaps most importantly, many are wondering why last Tuesday, Otani’s agent set up a lengthy interview with Mizuhara in which a former interpreter revealed that Otani deliberately paid off gambling debts. He wants to know if he claimed to have done so. The agent initially admitted that fact, but later both Mizuhara and the agent returned to the claim, claiming that Mizuhara had stolen the money.
In this photo taken on March 16, 2024, Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani (right) attends a press conference at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul prior to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2024 MLB Seoul Series baseball game. ) and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara (left). And the San Diego Padres. (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
Other contradictions have emerged regarding Mizuhara’s career. In his bio, he claims to have served as an interpreter for Hideki Okajima when he played for the Boston Red Sox in 2010, and claims to have studied at the University of California, Riverside. However, the University of California, Riverside maintains that Mizuhara never attended the school, and the Red Sox claim that Mizuhara never worked as an interpreter for Okajima during his time in Boston.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is happy to see Ohtani address the controversy head-on.
“I think it’s the right thing to do,” Roberts said. “I’m happy for him to talk and tell me what he knows and give his thoughts on the whole situation. I think that will give us a little more clarity.”
