Shohei Otani has broken his silence regarding the gambling scandal involving his longtime translator Ippei Mizuhara.
Ohtani read a prepared statement to reporters at Dodger Stadium on Monday afternoon before an exhibition game against the Angels and declined to answer questions from the media.
“I have never bet on baseball or any other sport, I have never asked anyone to bet on my behalf, and I have never bet on sports through a bookmaker,” Ohtani said in a new statement. Speaking through interpreter Will Ireton.
Otani, 29, said he didn’t know until “a few days ago” that Mizuhara was “stealing money from my account” for gambling.
He said he didn’t know about the gamble until the Dodgers held a team meeting after their first game against the Padres in Seoul last week.
These come after a vague story emerged last week that Mizuhara lost millions of dollars to alleged illegal bookmaker Matthew Bowyer, and that the funds were transferred from Otani’s account to cover his debts. , was the first comment made by Otani.
The Los Angeles Times first reported the story last Wednesday, saying Mizuhara was accused of stealing “millions of dollars” from Ohtani.
Suspect Mizuhara has not been charged with any crime.
Later the same day, ESPN reported that Ohtani’s publicist said the Dodgers slugger sent Bowyer $4.5 million to cover Mizuhara’s debts and made Mizuhara available for taped interviews.
However, the Otani camp later “denied” Mizuhara’s explanation of what happened.
ESPN later reported that the mix-up apparently occurred because the Ohtani camp relied on Mizuhara’s interpretation before realizing what had happened.
Mr. Mizuhara also served as an interpreter for Ohtani while he was with the Angels, and the two were close friends in addition to their working relationship.
“In the course of responding to recent media interviews, we learned that Shohei was the victim of grand theft and have decided to refer this matter to authorities,” West Hollywood law firm Burke Buttler said in a statement. he told the Post in a statement.
Mizuhara told ESPN that he bet on sports such as soccer and American football, but never on baseball.
“I’ve never bet on baseball,” he said. “That’s 100 percent. We knew that rule. … We’ll have a meeting in spring training about that.”
Otani’s camp is reportedly seeking a criminal investigation into the matter.
Some of Mizuhara’s past has been called into question, as he did not attend UC Riverside in college, as per his previous Angels resume, nor did he work for the Red Sox, as per previous media reports. The Athletic reported.
Ohtani signed a 10-year contract worth $700 million with the Dodgers this offseason, with a mind-boggling $680 million of that deferred until after the deal ends.
