Shohei Ohtani says he has ‘never’ gambled on sports

(NewsNation) — Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani addressed the media Monday for the first time since allegations of illegal gambling and theft involving his interpreter emerged during his team’s trip to South Korea.

In the press conference, he denied ever betting on baseball and said he was “saddened and shocked” by his interpreter’s alleged actions.

“I never bet on baseball or any other sports. I never have asked somebody to do it on my behalf and I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports,” Ohtani said Monday.

Ohtani’s longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired by the Dodgers last week when the team opened the season with two games against the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea.

The allegations came to light last week after Ohtani’s lawyers accused Mizuhara of the massive theft of millions of dollars, placing bets with a bookmaker under federal investigation, according to ESPN.

The IRS confirmed Thursday that Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details.

“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,” Ohtani’s law firm, Berk Brettler LLP, said in a statement Wednesday. The firm declined further comment the next day.

Diane Bass, an attorney for Bowyer, said he never met or had “any direct contact” with Ohtani, but did admit to doing business with Mizuhara. Bass told the AP that Mizuhara was placing bets with Bowyer on international soccer, but not baseball.

“I never bet on baseball,” Mizuhara told ESPN. “That’s 100%. I knew that rule … We have a meeting about that in spring training.”

Mizuhara says he incurred over $1 million in debt by the end of 2022, and his losses increased from there.

If Mizuhara is found culpable, it would be the biggest gambling scandal for baseball since Pete Rose agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989, following an MLB investigation that found Rose placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the team.

Ohtani, who doesn’t speak often with reporters, has not spoken publicly since Mizuhara’s firing. Will Ireton, a Dodgers employee, served as Ohtani’s interpreter for Monday’s press conference.