Ohtani Shohei’s interpreter Mizuhara Ippei was fired by the Dodgers due to illegal gambling, Japanese netizens are shocked

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Multiple American media outlets reported on the 21st Japan time that the MLB Dodgers have fired Mizuhara Ippei, who serves as an interpreter for player Ohtani Shohei.

According to the “Los Angeles Times”, the interpreter for Dodgers player Ohtani was accused of illegal gambling, which is prohibited by Major League rules. Mizuhara Ippei, who was in charge of translating for Ohtani, has been fired from the team.

According to ESPN, at least $4.5 million (approximately 680 million yen) was used from Ohtani ‘s account. Ohtani did not gamble and used the funds to cover Mizuhara’s losses. In an interview with NNN, a lawyer representing Otani said, “We have discovered that Otani was the victim of a large-scale theft and have filed a complaint with the investigative authorities”.

Also, according to ESPN, Mizuhara confessed in front of the players in the team’s clubhouse after the opening game on the 20th that he had a gambling addiction .

Currently, Ohtani has unfollowed Mizuhara on Instagram, but photos of Mizuhara posted in the past remain as of 10 a.m. on the 21st.

It was also reported that the federal government is investigating a large amount of wire transfers to pay for debts incurred through sports gambling, which is illegal in California. Mizuhara has been involved in betting on international soccer games and other sports other than baseball since 2021. But he said he believed these bets were legal. He also testified that he had asked Otani to repay his debt and sent him a large amount of money in exchange for taking over the debt, but he recanted his previous statement. “Otani knew nothing about his gambling, his debts, or his repayments”, he is reported to have said.

In Japan, netizens are shocked about what has transpired. 　On social media, people posted comments such as, “I want to think it’s fake news”, “Ippei, what happened!”, “I don’t want to believe it, I can’t believe it”, “I’m worried about Otani’s mental health”, “It’s a lie,” and “It’s affecting Yamamoto’s first pitching”. At the same time, reactions such as “I don’t think so”, “I want to think it was some kind of mistake”, and “Mamiko-san must be shocked too”.  (Mamiko is Ohtani’s wife).

---