Shohei Ohtani is seeking to provide clarity on the timeline regarding himself and his former interpreter.
The Los Angeles Dodgers standout Ohtani addressed the media on Monday, delivering a prepared statement. This marked Ohtani’s first public appearance since the scandal involving his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, broke out. Allegations surfaced regarding Mizuhara’s purported theft of millions from Ohtani to settle debts with an illegal bookmaker.
Ohtani revealed that he became aware of Mizuhara’s gambling issue during a team meeting in the clubhouse with his Dodgers teammates, following their first Seoul Series game in South Korea. Reports had previously indicated that Mizuhara confessed to the Dodgers in the clubhouse that day, taking responsibility for the impending scandal due to his gambling addiction.
During the media session on Monday, Ohtani stated that he had a personal conversation with Mizuhara at the team hotel after the meeting. Ohtani claimed that Mizuhara confessed to embezzling money and funneling it to the illegal bookmaker during their private discussion at the hotel. Ohtani then notified his representatives. He emphasized that he had no prior knowledge of Mizuhara’s gambling activities before that team meeting, according to Sam Blum of The Athletic.
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Earlier in the media session, Ohtani also addressed the allegation suggesting that he himself had a gambling problem and that Mizuhara was merely taking the blame for him.
When the scandal initially unfolded, Mizuhara notably informed the media that Ohtani assisted him in transferring funds to the illegal bookmaker, implying that Ohtani had prior knowledge of Mizuhara’s gambling. However, Mizuhara later changed his statement, asserting that he had stolen the funds (approximately $4.5 million) from Ohtani without Ohtani’s awareness. Ohtani reaffirmed on Monday that Mizuhara’s initial accusation of Ohtani’s involvement in the fund transfer was entirely false.
At best, Ohtani may appear excessively trusting for allowing Mizuhara unrestricted access to his substantial wealth without any awareness of Mizuhara’s actions. The ongoing MLB investigation into both Ohtani and Mizuhara will ultimately determine the extent of Ohtani’s involvement in the situation.
