Speaking for the first time since his former interpreter was accused of stealing money from the baseball star's account to gamble on sports, Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani told his side of the story on Monday.
In a statement to the media, Ohtani said he only learned about the alleged theft last week during a baseball series in South Korea and he accused his longtime Japanese interpreter Ippei Mizuhara of stealing money from his account and lying.
Mizuhara was fired after Ohtani’s lawyers accused him of stealing millions of dollars and placing bets with a bookmaker under federal investigation, according to ESPN and the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the story.
The star two-way player signed an unparalleled 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers this offseason.
Here's what we learned:
- Timeline: The baseball player said he first learned that Mizuhara admitted to using money from the star’s account to bet on sports during a team meeting. Mizuhara spoke in English during the meeting and though he didn’t understand exactly what was being said, Ohtani said he started to feel like “something was amiss.” Mizuhara asked the star to speak in private after the meeting, Ohtani said. That's when he found out, he said, about his interpreter's gambling addiction. Until that point, he did not know Mizuhara was in debt, Ohtani said.
- How it started: The saga began with reporters asking questions about alleged wire transfers from Ohtani’s bank account to a bookmaker. Ohtani was in South Korea for the series against the San Diego Padres when he said the media contacted his representatives about his “potential involvement” in sports betting. Ohtani indicated that Mizuhara never told him about the media inquiry. According to Ohtani, Mizuhara told reporters and his representatives that Ohtani "on behalf of a friend, paid off debt." After more questions, Ohtani said it was uncovered that Mizuhara "was in debt and told my representatives that I was paying off those debts," calling it a "complete lie."
- Some more background: According to ESPN, Ohtani’s spokesperson initially told the outlet that the Japanese superstar was covering the gambling debts of his longtime friend and interpreter. Additionally, in an interview with ESPN on Tuesday, Mizuhara said wire transfers from Ohtani’s bank account to an alleged bookmaking operation were to cover his losses, but that Ohtani had zero involvement in the betting. On Wednesday, Ohtani’s lawyers released a statement saying he was a victim of theft and Mizuhara walked back on much he had previously told ESPN, saying Ohtani had no knowledge or involvement in the gambling activities, or his efforts to repay the debt.
- Ohtani denies sports betting: Ohtani said Monday that he "never bet on baseball or any other sports, or ... asked somebody to do it on my behalf." He also denied going through a bookmaker to bet on sports.
- Reaction: On a personal note, Ohtani he was "very sad and shocked that someone who I trust has done this" and said it is "really hard for me to verbalize how I'm feeling at this point." He said he is letting his lawyers handle the investigations moving forward and is looking toward the start of baseball season.