Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and slugger Shohei Ohtani on Monday offered his first comments since his attorneys lodged illegal gambling and theft allegations against his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
“I’m very shocked that someone I trusted has done this,” Ohtani said through his current interpreter, Will Ireton.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sport or asked somebody to do it on my behalf. And I have never [gone] through a bookmaker to bet on sports,” he added. Ohtani also said he never agreed to pay off Mizuhara’s debt. “Ippei has been stealing from my account and told lies.”
Ohtani did not take questions from reporters but says his lawyers will handle matters related to the scandal moving forward. Ohtani said he is “completely assisting in all investigations that are taking place right now.”
The Dodgers fired Mizuhara last week. Ohtani's lawyers accused Mizuhara of stealing millions of dollars from the baseball player to place bets with a bookie based in Orange County. ESPN reported that at least $4.5 million was allegedly sent from Ohtani's account to the bookie through a series of wire transfers.
Last Tuesday, Mizuhara told ESPN he placed bets on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL, and college football — not on baseball. Sports gambling is illegal in California. Mizuhara and the alleged bookie are now under criminal investigation. MLB’s Department of Investigations has launched its own probe.
Ohtani, who signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December, remains active. The Dodgers will go up against the Angels, his former team, tonight in Elysian Park for their second game in a three-game Freeway Series.
The Dodgers home opener for the regular season is Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Mizuhara has not publicly commented on the recent developments.
