Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani faced the media on Monday and firmly denied that he ever bet on sports. He also called his friend and former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, a liar.
Mizuhara is accused of placing illegal bets on sporting events besides baseball with a bookie named Mathew Bowyer. According to Ohtani’s lawyers, Mizuhara ran up $4.5 million in gambling debts and stole that sum from Ohtani to pay them off. Initially, Mizuhara and a representative of Ohtani said that Ohtani gave Mizuhara the money to pay off the debts.
On Monday, Ohtani said that absolutely did not happen.
“I am very saddened and shocked someone whom I trusted has done this,” Ohtani said while sitting next to Will Ireton, his new translator.
Shohei Ohtani said Monday he never bet on sports or knowingly paid any gambling debts accumulated by his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Instead, the Los Angeles Dodgers star claims his close friend lied to him for years and stole millions from the two-time MVP. pic.twitter.com/BLoVNVFxlU
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 26, 2024
“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies,” Ohtani said. “I never bet on sports or have willfully sent money to the bookmaker.”
Ohtani spoke in a room filled with reporters but did not take questions. Still, he sought to address the question on everyone’s mind.
“I have never bet on baseball or any other sports or asked somebody to do it on my behalf, and I have never gone through a bookmaker to bet on sports. I was never asked to assist betting payment for anyone else,” Ohtani said.
Shohei Ohtani poses for a photo with his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara (R) and agent Nez Balelo (L) after being introduced by the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on December 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
As for Mizuhara changing his story after the ESPN interview in which he claimed Ohtani paid the debts, the Dodgers star was adamant.
“All of this has been a complete lie,” Ohtani said. “Ippei obviously basically didn’t tell me about the media inquiry. So Ippei has been telling everyone around that he has been communicating with me on this account to the media and my team, and that hasn’t been true.”
Ohtani continued, “Just prior to the meeting, I was told by Ippei, ‘Hey, let’s talk one-on-one in the hotel after the meeting,’ So up until that team meeting, I didn’t know that Ippei had a gambling addiction, and was in debt. Obviously, I never agreed to pay for the debt or make payments to the bookmaker, and finally, when we went back to the hotel, that was when I found out that he had a massive debt, and it was revealed to me during that meeting that Ippei admitted that he was sending money using my account to the bookmaker. At that moment, it was absurd, and I contacted my representatives at that point.”
On Monday, it was reported that in addition to MLB’s investigation, the IRS is also investigating Mizuhara over his financial dealings with Bowyer.
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