Shohei Ohtani's Interpreter Fired by Dodgers Following Allegations of 'Massive Theft'
Shohei Ohtani's interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, has been accused of "massive theft" regarding the use of Ohtani's funds for sports betting.
Mizuhara was accused of spending millions of dollars on sports betting with an alleged illegal bookmaker, per The Los Angeles Times.
The Dodgers have reportedly fired Mizuhara, who is in Korea with Ohtani and the Dodgers for the Seoul Series.
Mizuhara has been Ohtani's interpreter since he joined Major League Baseball in 2017 with the Los Angeles Angels.
The Angels hired him as Ohtani's interpreter in 2017, and the Dodgers hired Mizuhara this offseason following their acquisition of Ohtani.
The West Hollywood law firm, Berk Brettler, released this statement regarding the incident:
“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.”
According to The Athletic, which cited an unnamed MLB official, Ohtani is not currently facing discipline from the league.
For an in-depth breakdown of the situation, here's a video from Doug McKain of dodgersnation.com:
