Over the past week, Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way player Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara have been making headlines across the globe, after the latter was dismissed amid news reports that he was involved in illegal sports gambling and may have stolen money from the baseball star to pay off debts.
Questions remain on the extent of Ohtani's knowledge of Mizuhara’s sports gambling and whether he had any involvement in it.
On Friday, Major League Baseball launched an investigation that will involve the questioning of Ohtani and Mizuhara.
Depending on the outcome, experts — along with Ohtani fans — are weighing what it would mean for the Japanese baseball superstar.
Ohtani has remained mum since the news broke, but he indicated that he would speak to the media on Monday (Tuesday morning in Japan).
Here’s what we know so far.
How the scandal unfolded
Although it was not until last Wednesday in the U.S. that the public came to know about Mizuhara's sports gambling upon his dismissal from the Dodgers, the scandal was brewing behind the scenes from several months ago when ESPN received a tip on a matter concerning Ohtani, according to the sports channel.
In a span of 48 hours between Tuesday and Thursday, things escalated rapidly after ESPN reached out to Ohtani’s spokesperson regarding the fact that the baseball superstar’s name had appeared in transactions to Mathew Bowyer, a bookmaker operating in Southern California.
In a rapid back-and-forth exchange between ESPN and Ohtani’s newly hired crisis-communication spokesperson, it was first communicated that Mizuhara had come clean to Ohtani about his debts and that the baseball player had covered his interpreter's debts in installments.
Mizuhara then went on record with ESPN on Wednesday in an interview in which he admitted that he had debts totaling at least $4.5 million. He said he had been asking friends and family to help him repay the debts for a few years and that he could not come clean about it with Ohtani. He added that he had been struggling to make ends meet while keeping up with Ohtani’s lifestyle.
However, Mizuhara admitted that he finally went to Ohtani in early 2023 to ask for his help to settle his debts, after which the baseball player made eight or nine repayments, ESPN reported. He added that Ohtani had no idea that the payments were being made to a bookmaker and that he had never been involved in gambling.
Mizuhara also said that he had never placed a bet on a single baseball game.
The inconsistencies
But things took a turn over the next 24 hours.
In a meeting at the Dodgers clubhouse, Mizuhara confessed and apologized about his gambling addiction to the team, during which an executive on the team added that Ohtani had helped pay off the interpreter's debts, according to reports by ESPN.
After that, Ohtani reportedly started questioning what was said in the clubhouse; his representatives said that Ohtani did not recognize Mizuhara’s recounting of the events and that he noticed for the first time then that money was missing from his bank accounts.
On Thursday, Ohtani’s spokesperson told ESPN not to publish the original interview with Mizuhara since “Ippei was lying.”
Ohtani's lawyers then issued a statement saying “Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft,” and emphasizing that during the entire time they were dealing with the situation, Mizuhara was still the one interpreting for Ohtani and that he did not tell the baseball superstar what was happening.
After learning about the alleged theft, the Dodgers team fired Mizuhara.
Mizuhara spoke to ESPN over a phone call later that day and retracted most of the things he disclosed in the first interview. He said he had lied during the first interview with ESPN and that Ohtani had no idea about his gambling activities, as well as his debts and efforts to repay them.
Since then, heated debates have persisted over which recounting of the events is the truth and if Ohtani was aware of the gambling scandal, with the public speculating about the extent of his involvement.
Suspicions against Mizuhara increased further when NBC News reported on Thursday that there were no records of a student by the name of Ippei Mizuhara ever attending the University of California, Riverside, although he reportedly graduated from the school.
The MLB is currently gathering information on allegations involving Ohtani and Mizuhara that had been reported by the media. Concerns have emerged over whether the probe's outcome could bar the two-time MVP winner from the game.
Legal repercussions
Many news reports have said that Ohtani could be charged with a crime if he was aware of Mizuhara’s gambling and had transferred money to an illegal sports gambling operator on his behalf.
However, Takafumi Uematsu, a California- and Japan-licensed lawyer, believes that Ohtani is unlikely to be considered an accomplice even if he knew Mizuhara's gambling and had made repayments for him.
Additionally, while aiding and abetting a crime after the fact apply to felonies under California's state law, they don't for misdemeanors, which includes gambling offenses, Uematsu said.
“Ohtani's payment directly to the bookmaker without involving Ippei Mizuhara was intended to prevent Mizuhara from engaging in further gambling by restricting his access to money,” Uematsu said, regarding a scenario in which the baseball player had knowledge of his interpreter's troubles.
“Moreover, there is no evidence that Mizuhara's gambling activities were further fueled by Ohtani's repayment. Therefore, it is unlikely to constitute aiding and abetting,” he added.
Many fans are also worried about whether Ohtani would be able to continue playing for the Dodgers.
According to Uematsu, depending on the contents of Ohtani’s contract with the Dodgers, there is a possibility that his contract might be terminated if he were to be subjected to investigations by the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Decisions on the appointment of players are typically left to team managers, but in certain cases, the contract may have clauses calling for the player to be suspended, Uematsu said, though he thinks this is unlikely.
As Ohtani is now subject to a probe by the MLB, Uematsu said that Ohtani needs to cooperate with the investigations.
“Investigations by the DOJ and FBI on certain cases can be extremely intense,” he said.
“If there are suspicions during the investigation that Shohei Ohtani attempted to conceal evidence in any way, there is a possibility of stringent measures and penalties for obstruction of justice,” the lawyer added.
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