Shohei Ohtani addressed the recent sports betting scandal involving his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Ohtani held a press conference where he professed his innocence of any assertions he is involved in placing bets.
The finger of blame was squarely placed on Mizuhara, who was identified by the Los Angeles Dodgers player multiple times as a liar.
As reported by Bounding Into Sports, Ohtani’s interpreter allegedly stole more than $4.5 million from the Japanese-born player’s bank account. The money was reportedly used for gambling on international sports and contests involving sports other than baseball. The interpreter was immediately fired by the organization.
The MLB star said he was “very saddened and shocked” to have learned of Mizuhara’s actions.
“I never bet on baseball or any other sports and never asked someone to do it on my behalf and never went through a bookmaker,” he definitively declared. “In conclusion, Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.”
Here are Shohei Ohtani’s full comments about the Ippei Mizuhara gambling allegations pic.twitter.com/TJlEOKImrH
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 25, 2024
RELATED: Dodgers Fire Shohei Ohtani’s Interpreter In Developing Massive Gambling Scandal
Shohei Ohtani Hammers Interpreter For His Actions, Declares Innocence
During the press conference, Ohtani expressed disillusion over the revelations and said he only learned about the alleged theft last week during a baseball series in South Korea.
He said there was never an agreement to pay for Mizuhara’s debts or make payments to the bookmaker.
“Ippei never revealed to me that there was this media inquiry. Ippei told to the media and to my representatives that I, on behalf of a friend, paid off debt,” Ohtani told reporters. “Upon further questioning, it was revealed that it was actually, in fact, Ippei who was in debt and [he] told my representatives that I was paying off those debts.”
“All of this has been a complete lie,” the Dodgers pitcher continued. “So Ippei obviously lied… and basically didn’t tell me about the media inquiry. Ippei has been telling everybody that [he] has been communicating with [Shohei] on all of these accounts to my representatives, to the team, and that hasn’t been true.”
Ohtani said he’s been advised by his legal team to let authorities handle the matter.
“It’s really hard to verbalize how I am feeling at this point,” he finished.
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Pete Rose Jokes About Scandal
The Shohei Ohtani story has generated huge traffic on social media, including references to Pete Rose.
It’s natural to make that link between any gambling scandal and the most famous one of all in Charlie Hustle.
To that fact, Rose joked about the situation and how it might have been different for him.
“Back in the 70s and 80s, I wish I had an interpreter. I’d be scott-free,” Rose joked in a video posted to social media.
Pete Rose has some thoughts on the current Ohtani situation… pic.twitter.com/vWoo9FYiJV
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) March 25, 2024
Rose is a former Major League Baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Montreal Expos. He also managed the Reds.
He holds the all-time record for hits, games played, and at-bats. But his career was tarnished by a lifetime ban from the sport due to allegations of betting on baseball games. Some of those bets included those involving his own team.
