The Los Angeles Dodgers fired Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, this week after it was reported that he stole $4.5 million from the star player to pay a bookmaker.
Mizuhara first stated that he asked Ohtani for the money and he paid it, but then changed his story and said the 2021 and 2023 AL MVP didn’t know the $4.5 million was taken from his account.
As it normally happens in these situations in which there isn’t enough clarity, fans have started to discuss some possibilities and theories.
Some of them find it hard to believe that Mizuhara had access to Ohtani’s account, or that he didn’t know that $4.5 million was taken from him.
As a result, some have speculated that Ohtani might be involved in sports gambling (illegal in the state of California and highly unethical for a professional athlete) and had Mizuhara, a friend of his, place bets on his behalf.
Former Ohtani teammates, mostly on the Los Angeles Angels, dismissed this theory, according to Angels insider Jeff Fletcher.
“A consensus among Shohei Ohtani’s former teammates is that it’s unlikely Ippei was placing bets on his behalf because Shohei never paid attention to other sports, per @JeffFletcherOCR,” Talkin’ Baseball tweeted.
A consensus among Shohei Ohtani's former teammates is that it's unlikely Ippei was placing bets on his behalf because Shohei never paid attention to other sports, per @JeffFletcherOCR pic.twitter.com/XbasilzBkT
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 22, 2024
The key word here is “unlikely.”
It’s not “impossible,” it’s just not likely according to those who know him.
For what it’s worth, Ohtani is not being investigated at the moment.
The Mizuhara situation has been one of the most discussed topics on social media this week.
Until there is more clarity or a logical explanation, people are likely to keep speculating.
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