Dodgers Fire Shohei Ohtani’s Interpreter Amid Serious Allegations
"The Los Angeles Dodgers have fired Shohei Ohtani's interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, amid allegations of a "massive theft" of millions, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday (March 20).
Mizuhara, 39, a longtime friend of the two-time American League MVP, reportedly sent $4.5 million from Ohtani's bank account to a Southern California bookmaking operation currently under federal investigation. The interpreters firing came after reporters asked questions about the wire transfers.
A spokesperson for Ohtani claimed the baseball player transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara's gambling debt and presented the interpreter, who went into detail about his actions to ESPN during a 90-minute interview Tuesday (March 19) night. The spokesman would later disavow Mizuhara's account of the incident and said Ohtani's lawyers would prepare a statement when ESPN published its story on Wednesday (March 20).
"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," a statement obtained by ESPN from Berk Brettler LLP reads.
Ohtani's spokesman declined additional questions regarding the incident and didn't specify when they believe the alleged theft took place.
Ohtani, who spent his first six MLB seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, announced his decision to sign with the Dodgers in a post shared on his Instagram account Saturday (December 9). The Japanese native is arguably the biggest star in baseball as one of the leagues best starting pitchers and hitters.
Ohtani led his country to a World Baseball Classic days before his second AL MVP season in which he hit for a .304 average with a league-best 44 home runs and 95 RBIs and recorded a 10-5 record with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 23 starts and 132.0 innings pitched.
Mizuhara, 39, a longtime friend of the two-time American League MVP, reportedly sent $4.5 million from Ohtani's bank account to a Southern California bookmaking operation currently under federal investigation. The interpreters firing came after reporters asked questions about the wire transfers.
A spokesperson for Ohtani claimed the baseball player transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara's gambling debt and presented the interpreter, who went into detail about his actions to ESPN during a 90-minute interview Tuesday (March 19) night. The spokesman would later disavow Mizuhara's account of the incident and said Ohtani's lawyers would prepare a statement when ESPN published its story on Wednesday (March 20).
"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," a statement obtained by ESPN from Berk Brettler LLP reads.
Ohtani's spokesman declined additional questions regarding the incident and didn't specify when they believe the alleged theft took place.
Ohtani, who spent his first six MLB seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, announced his decision to sign with the Dodgers in a post shared on his Instagram account Saturday (December 9). The Japanese native is arguably the biggest star in baseball as one of the leagues best starting pitchers and hitters.
Ohtani led his country to a World Baseball Classic days before his second AL MVP season in which he hit for a .304 average with a league-best 44 home runs and 95 RBIs and recorded a 10-5 record with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 23 starts and 132.0 innings pitched.
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