Shohei Ohtani asserts he did not consent to send money to a bookmaker and denied ever placing a sports wager.
For the first time since his interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara was implicated in a gambling controversy, Shohei Ohtani spoke to the media on Monday. Although Ohtani’s lawyer maintains that his client was “the victim of a massive theft,” there are still unanswered concerns regarding the whole affair. The Los Angeles Dodgers player said, “I never bet on baseball or any other sport,” rejecting any involvement.
Ohtani’s bank account was used to transfer at least $4.5 million to a partner of California bookmaker Mathew Bowyer. Bowyer is the subject of a federal inquiry right now. At first, Mizuhara said he borrowed money from Shohei Ohtani to pay off his obligations and that he had a problem with gambling. But since it first surfaced on March 20, the narrative has constantly changed.
Shohei Ohtani’s representative stated on March 19 that he had sent the funds to assist in paying off Mizuhara’s debt from gambling. After that, the interpreter spoke with ESPN for ninety minutes, during which he explained his side of the incident in great detail. Ohtani’s representative refuted Mizuhara’s account of what happened a day later, and the slugger’s attorneys released a statement accusing Ohtani of stealing.
Shohei Ohtani remained mute before speaking to the media on Monday because that move raised far more questions than it did answers. Shohei Ohtani asserted in his statement that Mizuhara had been embezzling money from his bank account. In addition, he denied any connection and asserted that he had never utilized a bookmaker or placed a wager on baseball or any other sport. He clarified that he had never consented to transfer funds to a Bowyer colleague or settle Mizuhara’s obligations.
The following are some of the most important statements made by Shohei Ohtani during his 12-minute news conference, as translated by Will Ireton:
“To be honest, I’m shocked and saddened that someone I trusted did this.
“I have never requested someone to wager on baseball or any other sport on my behalf, and I never have. Additionally, I have never used a bookmaker to place a sports wager.
“Ippei never told the representatives in my camp or me that there was a media investigation.” Ippei declared to the press and my delegates that I had settled a friend’s obligation.
After more investigation, it was discovered that Ippei was the one with debt. I declared to my agents that I was clearing those bills.
Before a few days ago, I was unaware that this was taking place. To sum up, Ippei has been lying and taking money from my account.”
“I never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker.”
After making the statement, Shohei Ohtani did not answer any questions from the gathered reporters.
