Shohei Ohtani says he never gambled on sports

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:

Shohei Ohtani said that his former interpreter “has been stealing” from his account and “has told lies.”  

The baseball superstar said he was in South Korea for a series against the San Diego Padres when the media contacted his representatives about his “potential involvement” in sports betting. 

Ohtani indicated that Ippei Mizuhara never told him about the media inquiry. 

“Ippei told to the media and to the representatives that I, on behalf of a friend, paid off debt,” Ohtani said through an interpreter Monday. “Upon further questioning, it was revealed that it was actually in fact Ippei who … was in debt and told my representatives that I was paying off those debts.” 

Ohtani added: “All of this has been a complete lie.”

Some background: Mizuhara was fired last week after Ohtani’s lawyers accused him of “massive theft” of 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.

Los Angeles Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani said he found out at a team meeting after the first game in South Korea last week that his former interpreter admitted to using money from his account to bet on sports.

Ohtani said Mizuhara, his former interpreter, was speaking English during that meeting. Though he didn’t understand exactly what was being said, Ohtani said he started to feel like “something was amiss.”

Before the meeting, Mizuhara told Ohtani that he wanted to talk to him in private after the meeting, according to Ohtani. Once they talked, that’s when Ohtani said he found out about the debt.

“So up until that team meeting, I didn’t know that Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in debt,” he said, through another interpreter on Monday.
And obviously I never agreed to pay off the debt or to make payments to the bookmaker,” he added.

This post has been updated with additional comments.

Summarizing how he was feeling toward the end of his statement Monday, Shohei Ohtani said that he is “beyond shocked” over what he says was his ex-interpreter’s theft.

“It is really hard for me to verbalize how I’m feeling at this point,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to focusing on the season,” he added.

Ippei Mizuhura had served as the baseball star’s interpreter since 2017.

Speaking for the first time since the scandal involving his interpreter broke out, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei 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.

He said that his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhura, “has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.”

Addressing allegations that his former interpreter engaged in “massive theft,” Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani said that he is “very sad and shocked that someone who I trust has done this.”

Speaking to the media through another interpreter on Monday, Ohtani acknowledged that it has been a tough week for fans and the team and thanked people for being patient.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is making a statement to the media as Major League Baseball investigates allegations of theft against his longtime interpreter.

He will not be taking questions, according to the team.

Will Ireton, a Dodgers employee, will serve as Ohtani’s interpreter, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Some background: The allegations came to light last week when Ohtani’s Japanese interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired after Ohtani’s lawyers accused him of “massive theft” of 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.

Ohtani, who doesn’t speak often with reporters, has not spoken publicly since Mizuhara’s firing. The star two-way player signed an unparalleled 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers this offseason.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s longtime Japanese interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired after Ohtani’s lawyers accused him of “massive theft” of 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 scandal has threatened to overshadow the start of MLB’s Opening Day on Thursday, challenged the public’s understanding of one of baseball’s biggest stars, and brought renewed scrutiny to professional sports’ closeness with gambling.

An attorney for Mathew Bowyer, the former bookmaker under federal investigation related to gambling, said he never met or had “any direct contact” with Ohtani but did do business with Mizuhara.

“Mathew Bowyer never spoke with or emailed with or texted with or had any contact whatsoever with Shohei Ohtani,” the attorney, Diane Bass told CNN in an on-camera interview on Saturday.

The attorney also said Ohtani’s interpreter never bet on baseball.

The MLB and the Internal Revenue Service are separately investigating Mizuhara.

Shohei Ohtani’s longtime Japanese interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired after Ohtani’s lawyers accused him of “massive theft” of 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 saga began with reporters asking questions about alleged wire transfers from Ohtani’s bank account. Here’s how the scandal unfolded:

Baseball has a troubled history with gambling. The most famous – or infamous – incident is the “Black Sox Scandal.”

During the 1919 World Series, the heavily-favored Chicago White Sox were stunned 5-3 in a best-of-9 series by the Cincinnati Reds. However, a year later, eight White Sox players were accused of conspiring with gamblers to lose the Fall Classic on purpose.

They were all acquitted in a 1921 trial but were banned for life from professional baseball by then-commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.

Another involved MLB’s all-time hits leader Pete Rose, who received a lifetime ban from the sport in 1989 for betting on Cincinnati Reds games while he was a player/manager for the team.

Rose, whose ban makes him ineligible for election to baseball’s hall of fame, admitted in his 2004 autobiography he bet on baseball while Reds manager and, three years later, told ESPN Radio he bet on the Reds to win every night.

In 2023, Americans gambled a record $119.84 billion on sports, a 27.5% increase from the previous year, according to the American Gaming Association’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker.

Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese baseball phenom embroiled in a scandal involving allegations of theft against his former interpreter, has become one of the baseball world’s biggest celebrities in the last years.

Ohtani, 29, was born in Mizusawa, Japan, and excelled at baseball starting in high school. After starting his professional career with Japan’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2013, he switched to Major League Baseball in 2018 and joined the Los Angeles Angels.

In December, he made headlines when he signed on to the Los Angeles Dodgers with a historic 10-year, $700 million deal, one of the highest-paying contracts in the history of professional sports.

The athlete, who pitches and bats as a designated hitter, was unanimously voted the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 2021. The same season, he also became the first player in American League or National League history with at least 45 homers, 25 stolen bases and five triples in a season.

In 2023, he was named MVP for a second time, making him the first player to ever unanimously win American League MVP twice.

His massive success on the diamond has also lent itself to highly-compensated advertising partnerships. Ohtani has more than a dozen partnerships around the world, generating at least $35 million in annual endorsement earnings, including with Boss (formerly Hugo Boss), Fanatics, and Seiko Watch, according to a tally from Forbes.

The athlete underwent elbow surgery in the offseason and will not pitch again until 2025.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is expected to address the media Monday as Major League Baseball investigates allegations of theft against his former interpreter.

“I’m happy he’s going to speak – speak to what he knows and give his thoughts on the whole situation,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday. “I think it’ll give us a little bit more clarity.”

Will Ireton, a Dodgers employee, will serve as Ohtani’s interpreter, Roberts said.

Ohtani’s longtime Japanese interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired after Ohtani’s lawyers accused him of “massive theft” of 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 scandal has threatened to overshadow the start of MLB’s Opening Day on Thursday, challenged the public’s understanding of one of baseball’s biggest stars, and brought renewed scrutiny to professional sports’ closeness with gambling.