March 25 (UPI) — Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani on Monday steadfastly denied any involvement in sports betting or the gambling activities of his friend and former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara.
Appearing on a live video feed set up by the Dodgers as they prepared for their domestic home opener this week, baseball’s biggest star declared he had never bet on any sporting events in his life and was unaware that Mizuhara had tapped his bank accounts to pay off millions of dollars in illegal gambling debts.
“I’ve never bet on baseball or any other sport, or ever asked anyone to do it on my behalf,” the Japanese star said. “I never went through a bookmaker.”
Major League Baseball launched an investigation of Ohtani on Friday after allegations surfaced that Mizuhara used $4.5 million of the player’s money to pay off gambling debts. Mizuhara is accused of betting on sports in California, where the practice remains illegal, and of falling deeply into debt to bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who is the subject of a federal investigation.
Mizuhara told ESPN he didn’t know his bets with Bowyer were illegal and claimed he never bet on baseball, instead wagering on soccer, the NFL, college basketball and the NBA.
Bowyer’s attorney told CBS Sports his client never met or had any contact with Ohtani. The two-way pitching-hitting star, who signed a record 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers this offseason, himself confirmed that account on Monday, insisting he had never heard of Bowyer and that he had “never agreed” to pay off his interpreter’s debts.
Mizuhara initially claimed Ohtani had provided him with the funds, but the player denied that account as “a complete lie” and insisted the money was stolen from him.
In fact, he said, he didn’t have any idea that Mizuhara had a gambling problem until he informed the team of his legal problems at a meeting last week.
“Up until that team meeting, I didn’t know that Ippei had a gambling addiction and was in debt,” he said.
Despite the furor over the gambling allegations, Ohtani said he’s going to concentrate on his Dodgers home debut when they face the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.
“The season’s going to start, so I’m going to obviously let my lawyers handle matters from here on out,” Ohtani said. “I am completely assisting in all investigations that are taking place right now.”
