Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani issued his first public feedback since he turned embroiled in a betting scandal involving his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. “I’m very unhappy and shocked that somebody who I trusted has carried out this,” he acknowledged on Monday when chatting with the media.
“I by no means wager on baseball or every other sports activities, or by no means have requested any individual to do it on my behalf. I’ve by no means went by way of a bookmaker to wager on sports activities,” he added.
The saga has engulfed the baseball world for over every week, casting a shadow over a particular two-game collection between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea, in addition to opening day (set for this Thursday, March 28). The broad strokes embrace a $4.5 million playing debt; Mizuhara’s firing final Wednesday; the involvement of an alleged unlawful bookie in Orange County, simply south of Los Angeles; and two contradicting explanations that emerged from Ohtani’s attorneys and Mizuhara himself, which fueled extra questions than solutions.
The story first broke with a Los Angeles Instances article on March 20. The paper stated Mizuhara was fired amid allegations of unlawful playing, with Ohtani’s attorneys accusing the interpreter of stealing the baseball participant’s cash to put bets. The athlete’s attorneys made the declare after The Instances discovered that Ohtani’s identify had appeared in a federal investigation into the allegedly unlawful bookie, Matthew Bowyer.
This early report additionally quoted sources who stated Bowyer allegedly bragged to Las Vegas associates that he had a reference to Ohtani for “advertising functions.” (Sports activities betting remains to be unlawful in California.)
Shortly after The Instances story, ESPN printed its personal report that included quotes from an interview with Mizuhara performed the day earlier than, March 19. Mizuhara claimed that he’d really requested Ohtani in 2023 to repay his playing money owed. He stated he thought the bets he’d positioned have been authorized, and claimed he solely wager on NBA, NFL, faculty soccer, and worldwide soccer sport. “I by no means wager on baseball. That’s 100%. I knew that rule,” he stated.
Nonetheless, by Wednesday, Mizuhara had walked again his personal interview and claimed Ohtani knew nothing about his playing money owed and didn’t switch any cash to Bowyer’s affiliate on his behalf. “Clearly, that is all my fault, every thing I’ve carried out,” Mizuhara stated. “I’m able to face all the results.”
By Friday, Main League Baseball introduced that it had opened its personal investigation into the scandal. “Main League Baseball has been gathering data since we discovered concerning the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei (Mizuhara) from the information media,” the commissioner’s workplace stated in a press release. “Earlier at present, our Division of Investigations started their formal course of investigating the matter.”
This can be a growing story.
