Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani spoke out publicly Monday for the first time following bombshell accusations his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, stole millions of dollars from him and engaged in illegal gambling.
The 29-year-old pitcher, whose native tongue is Japanese, read a prepared statement from the team's interview room.
"I'm very saddened and shocked that someone I trusted has done this," he said, joinbed by Will Ireton, the team's manager of performance operations, who translated.
Ohtani, who spoke for nearly 12 minutes, read from the statement, saying, "Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies."
Ohtani did not take any questions from reporters.
The young MLB susperstar — a two-time MVP, who left the Los Angeles Angels in December to sign a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers — said he "never bet on baseball or any other sports, or...asked somebody to do it on my behalf."
He also denied going through a bookmaker to place bets on sports.
The star pitcher and slugger said he first found out about his now ex-nterpreter's gambling at a team meeting after the first game in South Korea last week when Mizuhara was speaking English. He said he started to feel like "something was amiss."
They talked after the meeting priovately and that is when, Ohtani said, he found out about the debt.
"So up until that team meeting, I didn't know that Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in debt," he said. "And obviously I never agreed to pay off the debt or to make payments to the bookmaker."
Mizuhara was fired swiftly Wednesday after allegations surfaced he stole millions of dollars from the baseball star and participated in an illegal gambling scheme, according to ESPN.
Mizuhara allegedly sent a $4.5 million wire transfer from Ohtani's bank account to an associate of California bookkeeper Mathew Bowyer, who is currently under investigation by federal authorities, the outlet reported, citing bank data and unnamed sources.
"I think it's the right thing to do," team manager Dave Roberts said prior to Ohtani's public address, according to The Athletic. "I'm happy he's going to speak, speak to what he knows and give his thoughts on the whole situation. I think it'll give us a little bit more clarity."
Meanwhile, the Dodgers' Will Ireton has stepped in to serve as Ohtani's interpreter, Roberts said, according to CNN.
