Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) has denied involvement in illegal gambling and expressed his grievances. Ohtani held a press conference on the 26th (KST) at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, California, to directly address the situation regarding his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
The team and Ohtani previously fired Mizuhara on the 21st for allegedly stealing a large sum of Ohtani’s money and using it for illegal gambling. In this process, Mizuhara initially claimed Ohtani had sent the money directly to the bookmaker to pay off his gambling debts but later recanted his statement.
Ohtani claimed he was not involved in illegal sports betting or gambling during the press conference. He also stated that he was unaware of the gambling activities of Mizuhara and that approximately $4.5 million had been withdrawn from his account without his knowledge. He appealed that Mizuhara completely deceived him.
Ohtani emphasized, “I never agreed to pay off his debts, nor did I request or permit anyone to transfer money to the gamblers. Honestly, the word ‘shocked’ is not enough to describe my feelings, and I have spent the past week feeling indescribable, so it’s hard to express it in words.”
However, he added, “As the season starts in full swing, I would like to leave this to my lawyers and fully cooperate with the police authorities. Since this is all I can say for now, I won’t be taking any questions, but it seems like more developments will come.”
Despite Ohtani’s press conference, the public’s reaction has generally been cold. Critics argue that Ohtani dodged the most critical questions during the meeting.
Among those who raised doubts was Joe Pompliano, a well-known American sports business expert.
Joe posted on social media immediately after Ohtani’s press conference, raising several reasonable doubts.
Joe asked, “Shohei Ohtani’s press conference avoided two important questions.” He continued, “How did Ippei have access to his bank account? How did he not notice multiple $500,000 payments leaving his account over several months?” He further stated, “It’s hard to believe any story without hearing answers to those questions.”
It was reported that traces of $500,000 being transferred twice to illegal gamblers in Ohtani’s name in September and October last year were discovered by federal investigators.
Whether Ohtani will resolve the severe suspicions raised against him in a subsequent press conference or remain silent remains to be seen. The outcome of investigations by the authorities and others is also drawing attention.
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