The Shohei Ohtani situation, explained

Major League Baseball kicked off its 2024 season on Wednesday morning with its biggest superstar, Shohei Ohtani, collecting two hits and leading his LA Dodgers to a win.

But the dream Opening Day scenario for Ohtani quickly turned into a nightmare, when reports emerged that his interpreter was fired Wednesday afternoon over his association with an alleged illegal bookmaker – and that Ohtani’s personal bank account was allegedly used to pay at least $4.5 million in gambling debts.

Ohtani’s response to the reports has only raised more questions. A spokesperson for the superstar initially told ESPN that Ohtani was covering the gambling debts of his longtime friend and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

Ohtani’s spokesperson also sanctioned a 90-minute ESPN interview with Mizuhara, in which the interpreter reportedly said Ohtani approved the wire transfers to cover Mizuhara’s gambling losses – and that Ohtani had zero involvement in the betting.

• But, as ESPN was about to publish its story, Ohtani’s camp reversed course and disavowed Mizuhara’s account, saying Ohtani was “the victim of a massive theft.”
• Mizuhara also walked back most of his story less than 24 hours after the interview, and now says Ohtani had no knowledge or involvement in Mizuhara’s efforts to repay his gambling debts.

📝 Bottom line: No one involved in the story – including the alleged illegal bookmaker – has accused Ohtani of placing any bets, or alleged that his interpreter ever bet on baseball. The MLB said yesterday that the Dodgers star isn’t currently under any investigation.