Shohei Ohtani Says He Never Bets On Sports, But Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara Lied

(CTN News) – Shohei Ohtani said he never bet on sports or paid Ippei Mizuhara’s gambling debts knowingly.

Los Angeles Dodgers star claims his close friend stole millions from him and lied for years.

Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN of his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker. As Will Ireton, the team’s manager of performance operations, translated, the Japanese star expressed sadness and shock that someone he trusted had done this.

Ohtani said Ippei lied to him and stole from his account. Never willfully bet on sports or send money to the bookmaker.” As dozens of reporters gathered in a small room, Shohei Ohtani spoke for nearly 12 minutes about Mizuhara’s deception. Shohei Ohtani was wearing a Dodgers cap and sweatshirt and was reading a Japanese document.

Even so, Ohtani, 29, repeatedly emphasized he had never gambled knowingly. It was unclear how Mizuhara stole his money to pay gambling debts. “I have never backed a sports team, used a bookmaker for sports betting, or helped someone with their betting payments,” Ohtani said.

A record $700 million, 10-year contract was signed by Ohtani with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December. Mizuhara’s gambling became public last week, a week after Ohtani joined the Angels.

The Dodgers haven’t heard from Ohtani in a group since Mizuhara was fired, but he explained himself to several Dodgers individually, Roberts said. In addition to Kiké Hernández, Joe Kelly attended Ohtani’s news conference to express their support for him.

Roberts said Shohei’s explanation of what happened was honest. “I know the organization supports him. Several of my questions were answered, and I’m looking forward to letting the authorities take care of it and focusing on baseball instead. Having him speak up here was a great accomplishment for him.”

It has been confirmed by the IRS’ Los Angeles field office that Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer are under criminal investigation.

He said Shohei Ohtani paid his gambling debts at the interpreter’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football. Players and team employees are prohibited from betting on baseball – even legally – and are also prohibited from betting on other sports through an illegal or offshore bookmaker.

Mizuhara changed his story the following day, claiming Shohei Ohtani had not transferred any money to bookmakers and was not aware of the gambling debts.

I’ve been completely lied to,” Shohei Ohtani said. Ippei obviously didn’t inform me about the media inquiry. Despite what Ippei claims, he hasn’t been communicating with me about this account with my team or media.”

Last Wednesday’s game against San Diego drew Shohei Ohtani attention to Mizuhara’s gambling problem. It was a shock – and Ohtani couldn’t understand what Mizuhara was saying since he was speaking in English.

After the meeting, Ippei suggested we talk one-on-one in the hotel,” Ohtani said. So I didn’t know Ippei had debt and a gambling addiction until that team meeting.

It was obvious that I never agreed to repay the debt or make payments to the bookmaker. Finally, when we returned to the hotel, I learned he had a massive debt, and Ippei admitted to me during that meeting that he used my account to pay the bookmaker. I contacted my representatives at that point as it appeared absurd.”

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