Shohei Ohtani’s now ex-interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired last week after using over $4.5 million of Ohtani’s money to gamble and pay off gambling debts.
With questions and rumors swirling, Ohtani made a public statement Monday afternoon in which he denied any knowledge of what Mizuhara did with his money.
“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies… I never betted on sports or willfully sent money to the bookmaker,” Ohtani said through his interpreter.
The statement, interpreted by Will Ireton, was Ohtani’s first official direct statement to the media since the situation went public.
Ohtani reiterated claims his lawyers and spokesmen previously made, denying the allegations that he was aware of and consented to Mitsuhara’s actions.
“I’m just beyond shocked. It’s really hard to verbalize how I am feeling,” Ohtani said via Ireton.
As anticipated, Ohtani declined to answer questions from the media following his statement.
Mizuhara was Ohtani’s longtime friend and served as his interpreter for six seasons during Ohtani’s time on the Los Angeles Angels.
Last week, Mizuhara claimed to ESPN that he started betting in 2021 and had lost $4 million by 2023.
“[Ohtani] said he would help me,” Mizuhara said. “I just told him I need to send a wire to pay off the debt. He didn’t ask if it was illegal.”
However, Ohtani claims that he was unaware of the missing funds until this point. On the same day, the Dodgers fired Mizuhara after reports of ties to an illegal bookmaker, according to the Associated Press.
Betting on any type of game – even fantasy or amateur – when employed by the MLB is strictly banned, and violating this rule can result in drastic consequences for any MLB personnel involved, according to ESPN.
The MLB started its formal investigation on Friday, and the AP reported that the IRS is criminally investigating Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged bookmaker.
Since last week’s revelations about Mizuhara, some baseball fans have questioned whether Ohtani himself may have accrued the gambling debts under Mizuhara’s name.
“[Ohtani and Mizuhara] spent so much time with one another, it’s kind of hard for one to know and the other one to be completely out of the loop,” said Ethan Pollack, a sophomore studying business administration.
“I highly doubt [Ohtani is] completely innocent, but he’s a good baseball player,” Pollack said. “So I’m sure he’ll squeak through the cracks somehow.”