Is Ippei Mizuhara’s betting saga coming to an end following Shohei Ohtani’s media confession?
Shohei Ohtani claims he was shocked to hear the allegations against his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara
Ippei Mizuhara and Shohei Ohtani (Image via Imago)
A few days after the scandal originally broke out, Shohei Ohtani finally spoke out publicly. The Los Angeles Dodgers star on Monday addressed the situation regarding Ippei Mizuhara‘s betting scandal.
The baseball world received a huge shock last week when allegations of massive theft and gambling were raised against Shohei Ohtani‘s interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. The 39-year-old found himself under the spotlight for placing bets on sports.
Mizuhara would admit that he gambled and that Ohtani knew about his addiction. He further claimed the MLB star had helped him pay off his debts. However, he would later change the story and expressed that Ohtani had no idea what was going on.
Speaking to the media on Monday through his new interpreter Will Ireton, Ohtani labeled the statement of his former translator as “complete lie” and expressed he never agreed to pay off his debt.
All of this has been a complete lie… I didn’t know Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in debt. And obviously I never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker.
Shohei Ohtani on Ippei Mizuhara’s gambling allegations in his press conference.
This statement from Ohtani raised a crucial question on whether this confession by him brings an end to the Ippei Mizuhara saga? Can he now just go back and focus on baseball and prepare for the upcoming campaign?
While Ohtani and the LA Dodgers would love to see that happen, this statement of his has now raised more doubts in the minds of fans. Sports personality, Joe Pompliano on X raised two questions following this conference of Ohtani.
He would ask how Mizuhara had the access of Ohtani’s bank account and how did he (Ohtani) not notice that multiple $500,000 were leaving his account in the past. This questions from him suggest that this saga might not be coming to an end soon.
Related: “Hope Sho is good,” Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani’s ex-Angels teammates WORRIED as MLB investigates Ippei Mizuhara’s betting case
Dave Roberts backs Shohei Ohtani following press conference
The eyes of the MLB world were fixated on Shohei Ohtani on Monday as he walked to the press room and gave a statement regarding the situation of Ippei Mizuhara. His coach Dave Roberts has now backed him and was “proud” of him to give his take on things.
Dave Roberts (L) and Shohei Ohtani (R) [Image via Imago]
While speaking in the press conference on Monday, Roberts when asked about Ohtani’s statement said:
I think Shohei was very honest in his take on what happened. I know that for me & the organization, we support him. I got a lot of questions answered as far as what he knew, what he didn’t know. I'm looking forward to just moving forward... I was proud of him to sit up here and give his take on things.
Dave Roberts on Shohei Ohtani’s press conference as per Jack Harris of LA Times.
He though is not the only one who has publicly backed him. Several Dodgers stars including Max Muncy and Mookie Betts have extended their support towards Ohtani and admitted they were worried about him. It now remains to be seen how this story develops from here on.
