The LA Dodgers Have Fired Shohei Ohtani’s Interpreter Amid Allegations Of Theft
The LA Dodgers have fired Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter amid allegations of theft. The firing came after questions surrounding at least $4.5 million in wire transfers sent from Ohtani’s bank account to a bookmaking operation set off a series of events.
Ippei Mizuhara, the longtime friend and interpreter of Ohtani, is the subject of this controversy. According to multiple sources, Mizuhara incurred the gambling debts to a Southern California bookmaking operation that is under federal investigation.
Initially, a spokesman for Ohtani said he slugger had transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debt. The spokesman presented Mizuhara to ESPN for a 90-minute interview Tuesday night. In the interview, Mizuhara laid out his account in great detail.
However, as ESPN prepared to publish the story Wednesday, the spokesman disavowed Mizuhara’s account and said Ohtani’s lawyers would issue a statement. “In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,” read the statement from Berk Brettler LLP.
While sports betting is legal in nearly 40 states, it remains illegal in California. In the Tuesday interview arranged by Ohtani’s spokesman, Mizuhara, 39, told ESPN that he asked Ohtani last year to pay off his gambling debt, which multiple sources said had ballooned to at least $4.5 million. “Obviously, he [Ohtani] wasn’t happy about it and said he would help me out to make sure I never do this again,” Mizuhara said. “He decided to pay it off for me.”
“I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again,” Mizuhara said. This is a bombshell revelation for the interpreter of the man who signed the largest contract in baseball history.
The LA Dodgers have fired Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter amid allegations of theft. How will this play out? And how will it effect Ohtani? Only time will tell.