Shortly after the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres in the Seoul Series opener, Shohei Ohtani and former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara became entangled in a scandal due to illegal sports gambling.
Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts. The two-way superstar maintained he never bet on sports nor agreed to pay off Mizuhara’s debt.
One month has passed since the controversy first came to light, and things appear to be trending in a positive direction for Ohtani. In addition to heating up at the plate, he was cleared in federal investigations into Mizuhara’s betting.
Ohtani said he grateful to the Dodgers for standing behind him during this difficult time, via SportsNet LA:
“I’m just really grateful and thankful the team and the personnel have supported me throughout this process.”
Mizuhara is reportedly expected to file a guilty plea amid evidence he took measures to ensure Ohtani would not discover the millions that were stolen from him.
In statement released through his attorney, Mizuhara apologized to Ohtani and the Dodgers.
MLB still wants to interview Shohei Ohtani
Although the federal investigation has been completed, MLB reportedly is still planning to interview Ohtani and Mizuhara. Neither is required to agree to speak with the league’s investigators.
Ohtani presumably will choose to do so as he previously expressed a willingness to cooperate with all investigations into the matter.
It’s unclear how Mizuhara views potentially meeting with MLB for their investigation, as his legal matters have not yet been resolved. Mizuhara is out on conditional bond and won’t need to pay so long as he doesn’t violate various terms, which include not contacting Ohtani and refraining from betting.
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