Ohtani Says He Never Bet on Sports, Interpreter “Told Lies”
Ohtani Public Comments: Dodgers Star "Beyond Shocked" by Scandal
Shohei Ohtani said he has never gambled on sports and did not instruct Ippei Mizuhara, his former interpreter, to make wire transfers to an illegal bookmaker.
In his first public statement since the gambling scandal surfaced, Ohtani told reporters that “Ippei has been stealing money from my account and told lies.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar spoke for more than 10 minutes Monday but did not take questions from the media. Cameras were not allowed for Ohtani’s public statement, though his comments aired on MLB Network and SportsNet LA, the Dodgers’ flagship station.
Speaking through his new interpreter, Will Ireton, the 29-year-old Ohtani said he was “very shocked and saddened that someone I’ve trusted has done this.”
Illegal Bookie Connection Prompts Questions
Mizuhara has been connected to Matthew Bowyer, a Southern California bookmaker who has been under federal investigation. Sports betting is illegal in California, though 38 other U.S. states and Washington, D.C. now allow it in some form.
On Wednesday, the Dodgers fired Mizuhara in response to reports that he’d made at least $4.5 million in wire transfers from Ohtani’s back account to the bookmaker. Mizuhara later told ESPN that he’d incurred debt betting on the NBA, NFL, college football, and international soccer but had never wagered on baseball, which is prohibited by MLB rules.
Ohtani reiterated that he was unaware of Mizuhara’s gambling debts and never agreed to make any payments to the bookmaker.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to do that on my behalf,” Ohtani said. “I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports. Up until a couple of days ago, I didn’t know that this was happening.”
Ohtani’s camp initially said Ohtani transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara’s debt, which Mizuhara then covered in detail during an interview with ESPN on March 19. But the following day, in a bizarre twist, lawyers representing Ohtani said he’d been a “victim of massive theft.”
Issue Coming to Light
Ohtani said he first learned of Mizuhara’s sports gambling debts during a meeting following his Dodgers debut, a 5-2 win over the Padres in South Korea.
“During the team meeting, obviously Ippei was speaking English but I didn’t have a translator by my side,” Ohtani said. “But even with that, I kind of understood what was going on and started to feel there was something amiss. Prior to the meeting, I was told by Ippei, ‘Let’s talk one-on-one after the meeting in the hotel.’ So I waited. So up until that team meeting, I didn’t know Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in massive debt.
“And it was revealed to me in that meeting that Ippei admitted that he was sending money, using my account, to the bookmaker. At that moment, obviously it was an absurd thing that was happening, and I contacted my representatives at that point. When I finally could talk to my representatives, my representatives found out Ippei had been lying the whole time. And that’s when I began contacting the Dodgers and my lawyers. The Dodgers and the lawyers at that moment found out as well that they’d been lied to.”
MLB announced last week it was investigating the situation.
“Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB said in a statement Friday. “Earlier today, our Department of Investigations (DOI) began their formal process investigating the matter.”
Dodgers, Ohtani Prepare Next Steps
Ohtani’s public statement concluded with Ohtani saying he was “beyond shocked” by the situation.
“It’s really hard to verbalize how I’m feeling at this point,” he said. “And the season is going to start so obviously I am going to let my lawyers handle this from here on out. And I am completely assisting in all investigations that are taking place right now.
“Now I’m looking forward to focusing on the season. I’m glad we had this opportunity to talk, and I’m sure there will be continuing investigations going forward.”
The Dodgers host the Cardinals on Thursday (4:10 p.m. ET) facing World Series-or-bust expectations. They are priced by some sportsbooks as +350 favorites to win the World Series, with a projected win total of 103.5.
A big reason for that is Ohtani. The two-way superstar from Japan hit 44 homers and 95 RBI while posting a .304/.412/.654 slash line last season. As a pitcher, he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings. One of the most sought-after free agents in sports history, Ohtani signed a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December after six years with the crosstown Angels.
Stay tuned for more updates on Ohtani’s public statement.
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