Los Angeles Dodgers’ superstar Shohei Ohtani met with the media on Monday afternoon to address the growing gambling controversy surrounding his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Ohtani did not take questions from the assembled media and instead issued a statement where he vehemently denied knowledge of the gambling controversy.
Ohtani’s Statement:
“First of all, thank you very much for coming. I wanted to be here today to be able to talk. I’m sure it was very though. It’s been a tough week for team fans and team officials. I’m very grateful that the media has been patient in this process. Just on a personal note, I’m very sad and shocked that a person I trusted on a personal note has done this.
Obviously today there’s things today that I’m limited in being able to talk about. I hope you understand. I have a document in front of me that I will refer to that will detail what has happened.
So, I never bet on baseball or any other sports, or never have asked somebody to do it on my behalf. I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports.
Up until a couple of days ago I didn’t even know that this was happening.
Just to kind of just go over the result. In conclusion, Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.
Last weekend in Korea, media had reached out to a representative in my camp inquiring about my potential involvement in this sports betting.
So, Ippei never revealed to me that there was this media inquiry. And to the representatives in my camp,Ippei told the media and to my representatives that I on behalf of a friend paid off debt.
Upon further questioning, it was revealed that it was actually in fact Ippei that was in debt and told my representatives that I was paying off the. And all of this has been a complete lie.
So, Ippei obviously lied…and basically didn’t tell me about the media inquiry. So, Ippei has been telling everyone around that ‘Ippei has been communicating with Shohei’ on all of this account. To my representatives. To the team. And that hasn’t been true.
The first time I knew about this gambling, Ippei’s gambling, was after the first game when we had a team meeting in the clubhouse.
So, during the team meeting obviously Ippei was speaking English and I didn’t have a translator on my side but even with that I kind of understood what was going on and started to feel that there was something amiss.
Prior to the meeting I was told by Ippei ‘hey, lets talk one to one’ in the hotel after the meeting so I waited until after then.
So, up until that team meeting I didn’t know that Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in debt. And obviously at that point I never agreed to pay off the debt or, you know, make payments to the bookmaker. And finally, when we went back to the hotel to talk ‘one to one’ that was when I found out that he had a massive debt.
And it was revealed to me during that meeting that he, Ippei, admitted that he was sending money using my account to the bookmaker. And at that moment, obviously it was an absurd thing that was happening, and I contacted my representatives at that point.
So, when I was finally able to talk my representatives, that’s when my representatives found out that Ippei has been lying the whole time and that’s when I started contacting the Dodgers and my lawyers. And the Dodgers and the lawyers at that moment found out that they too had been lied to.
My lawyers recommend that since this is theft and fraud that we have the proper authorities handle this manner.
In conclusion, I do want to make it clear that I never bet on sports or had willfully sent money to the bookmaker.
To summarize how I’m feeling right now, I’m just beyond shocked. It’s really tough to verbalize how I’m feeling at this point. And the season is going to start and I’m going to obviously let my lawyers handle manners from here on out and I’m completely assisting in all investigations that are taking place right now.
I’m looking forward to focusing on the season. I’m glad that we have this opportunity to talk and I’m sure there will be continuing investigations moving forward.
Thank you very much.
– Shohei Ohtani’s statement on Ippei Mizuhara Gambling Controversy (transcribed via media availability)
The 29-year-old read from what appeared to be a handwritten statement and was emotional at times showing anger regarding the controversy. Ohtani has pledged to work with all investigators.
Watch Ohtani Address the Ongoing Gambling Controversy
Shohei Ohtani’s full statement about Ippei Mizuhara and the gambling allegations pic.twitter.com/ENVDFFAnEp
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 25, 2024
MLB Opens Ohtani Investigation
In addition to ongoing federal investigations, Major League Baseball has announced they will investigate the gambling allegations surrounding Mizuhara and Ohtani.
MLB issued the following statement:
“Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media. Earlier today, our Department of Investigations (DOI) began their formal process investigating the matter.”
There is no set timetable for MLB’s investigation into the matter.
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