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BREAKING: Shohei Ohtani Finally Breaks Silence On Controversial Scandal As Alleged Bookie Makes Shocking Revelation…

By Casey Kaye

Shohei Ohtani, arguably the biggest star in all of baseball, has found himself in the middle of a shocking controversy.

His loyal interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers last week when it was revealed that he was wrapped up an alleged embezzlement scandal to cover gambling debts owed to an illegal California bookmaker. 

At first there were reports that Ohtani himself paid $4.5 million to the bookmaker to cover Mizuhara’s debts … However, that story quickly changed to Ohtani not having any knowledge or involvement in the gambling payments.

Legal representatives for Ohtani claimed the Japanese phenom was a victim of theft, and that Mizuhara accessed and stole the money from his account. 

For multiple reasons, there are several holes to Ohtani’s story. This is why the baseball world was very anxious to hear what he had to say tonight when he finally broke his silence on the situation.

Unfortunately (but not surprisingly), Ohtani refused to take questions from reporters. Instead, he made a brief but straight-forward statement. 

“I never bet on baseball or any other sports and have never asked someone to do so on my behalf and have never bet through a bookmaker,” Ohtani said through his new interpreter. “Until a couple of days ago, I didn’t know this was happening … Ippei has stolen money from my account and told lies.”

“I didn’t know that Ippei [Mizuhara] had a gambling addiction and was in debt. Obviously, I never agreed to pay off the debt or make payments to the bookmaker,” he added.

“In conclusion, I want to say I have never bet on sports or used a bookmaker. I am beyond shocked. It’s really hard to verbalize how I’m feeling at this point. The season is gonna start so will let my lawyers handle matters from here on out,” he concluded. 

I think we all knew this was the route Ohtani was going to take. However, his “press conference” tonight is going to do very little to quiet down the rampant speculation. 

Right or wrong, many people believe Ohtani was either involved directly with the gambling that took place – or at least was the one who made the payments, which he is currently denying. 

Contradictory accounts further complicated the situation when ESPN initially reported that Ohtani had transferred $4.5 million to cover Mizuhara’s debts, only for Ohtani’s camp to later shoot down that narrative. 

“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,” West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler stated last week when the story broke. 

The alleged bookmaker, Matthew Bowyer, allegedly met Mizuhara back in 2021. 

Bowyer’s attorney, Diane Bass, stated that her client “never met, spoke with, or texted, or had contact in any way with Ohtani.”

However, ESPN reporter Tisha Thompson indicated that Bowyer was aware of Mizuhara’s ties to Ohtani and was eager to capitalize on the association. 

“A source said Bowyer was aware of the name on the wire transfers but chose not to ask any questions as long as payments came in. However, the source said Bowyer allowed people to believe Ohtani was a client in order to boost business,” Thompson reported.

In other words, Bowyer was allegedly bragging that Ohtani was a client of his. (Even if he wasn’t.)

Mizuhara himself denied betting on baseball, insisting, “I never bet on baseball. That’s 100%. I knew that rule … We have a meeting about that in spring training.”

Ohtani’s camp is reportedly pushing for a criminal investigation into the matter, with attention also drawn to discrepancies in Mizuhara’s background.

Notably, Mizuhara had previously claimed to have attended the University of California, Riverside, in 2007.

However, university officials have refuted these claims, stating that there is no record of anyone by his name ever being enrolled at the institution.

“Our university records do not show a student by the name of Ippei Mizuhara having attended UC Riverside,” a spokesman for the university told The Athletic.

Amidst growing skepticism, speculation arose regarding Mizuhara’s alleged stint as an interpreter for the Boston Red Sox.

However, the Red Sox swiftly quashed these rumors in a statement released to the press.

“We are reaching out to all of you because of reports in various outlets stating that Ippei Mizuhara worked for the Red Sox as an interpreter, which is incorrect,” the Red Sox stated.

“Mizuhara was never employed by the Boston Red Sox in any capacity and was not an interpreter for Hideki Okajima during the pitcher’s time with the team. Please know that we have thoroughly checked our files to ensure we are providing accurate information.”

Fresh off signing his record-breaking 10-year, $700 million deal with baseball’s most-stacked team, it looked like nothing but blue skies ahead for Ohtani and the Dodgers.

However, storm clouds have taken over. And while it’s unclear to what – if any – involvement Ohtani actually had in the situation, the rumors and speculation won’t be going away anytime soon.

What are your thoughts on the messy situation in LA???

 

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