Ohtani Speaks, ‘I want to say I have never bet on sports or used a bookmaker, I am beyond shocked’

On Monday, Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani said he never bet on sports and that his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, stole money from him and told lies.

Ohtani Speaks

“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies,” Ohtani said.

“I am very saddened and shocked someone whom I trusted has done this,” the Japanese star said sitting next to Will Ireton, the team’s manager of performance operations, who translated.

Ohtani spoke for over ten minutes and did not take any questions.

“I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to do it on my behalf and I have never gone through a bookmaker to bet on sports. and was never asked to assist betting (payment for anyone else,” Ohtani said.

First Statement

According to ESPN last week, Othani’s camp first said Ohtani transferred the money to cover Mizuhara’s debts. Then the next day, a statement from Berk Brettler LLP, which is the law firm representing Othani, said the superstar had been a victim of massive theft. The statement also said Othani had no knowledge of his debt and had not transferred the money.

“Ippei admitted that he had used my account to pay off the debt,” Ohtani said. “At that point I went to my representatives, who found out Ippei had been lying the whole time.”

On Friday, the MLB announced that its Department of Investigations would investigate.

The former Angel just signed with the Dodgers this past offseason. He signed a ten-year contract for a record $700 million.

“In conclusion, I want to say I have never bet on sports or used a bookmaker,” Ohtani said. “I am beyond shocked. It’s really hard to verbalize how I’m feeling at this point. The season is gonna start so will let my lawyers handle matters from here on out.”