Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s longtime Japanese interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired after Ohtani’s lawyers accused him of “massive theft” of millions of dollars and placing bets with a bookmaker under federal investigation, according to ESPN and the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the story.
The scandal has threatened to overshadow the start of MLB’s Opening Day on Thursday, challenged the public’s understanding of one of baseball’s biggest stars, and brought renewed scrutiny to professional sports’ closeness with gambling.
An attorney for Mathew Bowyer, the former bookmaker under federal investigation related to gambling, said he never met or had “any direct contact” with Ohtani but did do business with Mizuhara.
“Mathew Bowyer never spoke with or emailed with or texted with or had any contact whatsoever with Shohei Ohtani,” the attorney, Diane Bass told CNN in an on-camera interview on Saturday.
The attorney also said Ohtani’s interpreter never bet on baseball.
The MLB and the Internal Revenue Service are separately investigating Mizuhara.
