Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Breaks Silence Regarding Situation Involving Former Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara

On Monday, Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani addressed the situation regarding his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, for the first time.

Ohtani, who read a statement to a room full of hundreds of reporters and high-ranking Dodgers officials that was interpreted to English by Will Ireton, said he has never bet on baseball or any other sport, and has never asked someone to bet on his behalf. He also made it clear that Mizuhara was responsible for the betting, and was stealing money from Ohtani’s account.

“Just to go over the result, in conclusion, Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.”

Ohtani said that he’s “shocked and saddened” that someone he trusted would do this.

Ohtani said he did not know about Mizuhara’s gambling addiction until he addressed the Dodgers on Wednesday after the first game of the Seoul Series.

“The first time I knew about Ippei’s gambling was after the first game when we had the team meeting in the clubhouse,” Ohtani said. “Up until that team meeting, I didn’t know that Ippei had a gambling addiction or was in debt.”

While Mizuhara spoke in English to the team, Ohtani said he started to understand what was happening and the seriousness of the situation.

After the meeting, Ohtani said he and Mizuhara had a one-on-one conversation in which Mizuhara revealed he had been taking money from Ohtani’s account to pay off the gambling debt. That’s when Ohtani contacted his representatives, and then spoke to the Dodgers and his lawyers.

Ohtani made it clear that he never agreed to pay off the debt for Mizuhara.

Ohtani concluded by reiterating that he’s never bet on baseball or any other sport, has never asked someone to bet for him and has never paid money to a bookmaker. He also made it clear how surprised he was with the entire situation:

“To summarize how I’m feeling right now, I’m just beyond shocked. It’s really hard to verbalize how I’m feeling at this point.”

He did not take any questions in the 12-minute press conference.

Ohtani and Mizuhara are currently under investigation by Major League Baseball, and Ohtani said he will fully cooperate with all the investigations.

This was Ohtani’s first time publicly acknowledging the situation, and his press conference was televised on MLB Network and SportsNet LA.

It’s been reported that Ohtani won’t face any discipline with the investigation ongoing, and will be able to remain in L.A.’s lineup for the time being.

The Dodgers play the Angels on Monday night at Dodger Stadium, and Ohtani is in the lineup batting in the two-hole.

Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports