On Monday (25 March), during a press conference regarding the sports betting scandal swirling around his former interpreter, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani vehemently denied that he ever bet on sports, sent money to an illegal bookmaker or “willfully” paid off gambling debts for anyone.
The comments were in response to the news last week that Ohtani’s interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, was stealing from him to support a gambling habit.
“I have never bet on baseball or any other sports or have asked anyone to do that for me,” Ohtani said in a prepared statement. “Up until a couple of days ago, I didn’t know this was happening. In conclusion Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies.”
Ohtani appeared with a new interpreter and did not take questions after the statement.
The man who owns baseball’s richest contract – he signed a 10-year, $700m deal with the Dodgers during the off season – was earnest, straightforward and direct in his ..