The Los Angeles Dodgers sent shockwaves throughout the sports world on Wednesday when they announced the firing of Shohei Ohtani’s longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Following allegations of Mizuhara partaking in illegal gambling, claims that Ohtani was directly linked to, L.A. made the decision to cut ties.
According to the current version of events that all parties involved are sticking to, Ohtani’s legal representatives are alleging that Mizuhara engaged in a “massive theft” that saw him steal at least $4.5 million to cover his gambling debts.
The reason why some doubt this story is because Ohtani himself seemed to have a different one originally.
“Initially, a spokesman for Ohtani told ESPN the slugger had transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debt,” a report from Trisha Thompson noted.
ESPN Star Molly Qerim’s See-Through Dress Causes A Stir: https://t.co/1H7yUmBJYN
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 19, 2024
“The spokesman presented Mizuhara to ESPN for a 90-minute interview Tuesday night, during which Mizuhara laid out his account in great detail. However, as ESPN prepared to publish the story Wednesday, the spokesman disavowed Mizuhara’s account and said Ohtani’s lawyers would issue a statement.”
That statement then presented a different version of events.
Olivia Dunne’s Post-LSU Meet Video Causes A Stir: https://t.co/tGapsddF2W
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 18, 2024
“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,” the statement from Berk Brettler LLP said.
Because of the changing narrative, fans grew skeptical. That doubt only grew when this video began to circulate on social media:
Ohtani accused this guy of “massive theft” just hours later lol pic.twitter.com/UwsY99sgCA
— Jim Russell (@JimRussellSD) March 20, 2024
Understandably, fans had some strong reactions to it:
Pete Rose has 4,256 hits, but came up 1 interpreter shy of the Hall of Fame. https://t.co/Z5F31pCKlD
— Metz (@Metz4Real) March 21, 2024
He’s the fall guy for Ohtani’s gambling?
— James (@GayBaseballFan) March 21, 2024
It will be interesting to see what ultimately ends up happening with Ohtani and Mizuhara.
Any one of a number of scenarios could be true, but at the moment, nobody knows what is what.
That is only creating more doubt and suspicion.
Will this scandal involving Ohtani and Mizuhara ultimately wreck the Dodgers’ season before it can even begin? Time will tell.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
