She needs to be fired. Total embarrassment to ESPN. And that's saying a lot.

Tisha you need to make a public apology.

You should both apologize

The latest development, the Fed clearing Ohtani, only confirms Tisha Thompson’s incompetence. She was “this close to” publishing the bogus story Ippei concocted without directly vetting Ohtani. For the story of this magnitude, her action would have been completely unacceptable. She was only saved by Ohtani’s lawyers and LA Times.

What a terrible reporter. Second rate.

You were deceived by a con man whose name is IPPEI MIZUHARA. That's it.

Sorry Rich I’m an avid fan but this reporter should not be credentialed, as a fan I do not trust her as a source.

Katsunori Kojima, one of the translators of a Japanese MLB player revealed what his job as a translator entailed: He had to help open the bank accounts of the Japanese players in the USA and make all of their tax payments (meaning Ippei most likely had access to Ohtani’s accounts). Kojima was also in charge of bringing their wives and children to the doctor when they became sick, showing that the job as a translator was much more than just on the field. Some players also asked him to go to a dinner alone with their sponsors when they’re tired giving him a bank card to pay. With all of this it is likely that Ippei had access to multiple of Shohei’s accounts and Shohei trusted him with it because it was in his job description.

This aged well 👍🏼

It is so simple that Mizuhara cheated Ms. Thompson.

Seeing Mrs. Mamiko's demeanor while watching the game, I'm once again convinced that everything Shohei said at his recent press conference was the truth. Despite her husband being amidst such a significant issue, the fact that she can enjoy watching the game so happily and relaxedly indicates her sincere trust in Shohei. In other words, I believe it's because Shohei has nothing to hide. I hope this matter resolves quickly, and we get to see the couple out and about, enjoying their time together.

If you claim to take pride in being a journalist, then it's imperative to delve deeper into major investigations regarding bookies. This would be significant news, shedding light on the issue of gambling crimes. I have doubts about your credibility because your initial news piece was published without Shohei’s input. Did your sources for the news come from individuals involved in the investigation? You solely interviewed Ippei without presenting any evidence. How did you verify the accuracy of the information? Aren’t you also susceptible to being deceived by Ippei?

ESPN has journalistic standards?

"It's quite unfortunate that there are people who doubt Shohei Ohtani. They must be really unlucky. It's quite something to fully believe in the interpreter Mizuhara's initial fabrication story."

"I am a boxer. My job is to the be the best boxer in the world. There are people who's job is to take my money away from me." - Mike Tyson.

I also question why The Rich Eisen show produces four separate clips from a single interview. I mean, I know why but again WHY Eisen gives any credence to her flawed report at the same time when he says he wants to believe Ohtani. This is simply irresponsible if not outright mean. I hope Ohtani will never be nice to his son, seriously.

A few details that remain vague: Has Thompson spoken to the bookie? Who are the Shohei's "representatives" everyone keeps mentioning? Are they from his agency? His Lawyers? His PR firm? And do any of them speak Japanese, or did EVERYTHING go through Ippei? Unless there are Japanese speakers available to all his reps, it seems, for better or worse, everyone really trusted Ippei.

The only victim is Ohtani, he had nothing to do with this, Ippie is a known liar and a gambler. But the haters will spin this around and blame Shohei. There's nothing that proves he is guilty of anything, he did'nt sign any check to make payments and the wire transfer were done by electronic which Ippei had access to. Shohei has no history of gambling, if he did he would not be in a hole racking up a $4 million dollar debt that he cannot pay, he makes over $100million dollars in endorsements. And they have sports betting in Japan and Shohei never gambled there either, why not bet on the players and sports teams in Japan he knows instead of betting on unfamiliar players teams he never followed and know here in the states, and even his teammates here said he refused to go to casinos with them to gamble.

The logic that 'how can Ohtani not know 4.5 million is missing therefore he's guilty' makes sense to most people who are not making Ohtani's money. Ohtani made $30 million last year with the Angels and around $60 million in endorsements. Almost all people with that kind of money have multiple bank accounts. Banks are insured up to $250,000. If you have $90 million in the bank and you only bank with 1 bank, that means only $250K of your $90 million is insured. Money managers will tell you to open multiple accounts whether in savings, checking, certificate of deposit, or with joint owners to have as much as possible insured. Another way is to start a business or non profit organization to protect their money (most would choose non profit for more favorable tax). It's not surprising at all that Ohtani would have multiple accounts and Ohtani would allow Ippei to have access to manage the account. Ippei was his gatekeeper as well as personal assistant. Ohtani still have to pay his bills, taxes, and various other expenses that normal people have. I don't think any baseball player wants to be worrying about their bills especially if you're a busy two-way player with so many on and off field obligations. It wasn't a lump sum of $4.5 million that was missing but smaller increments adding up to that amount over a couple of years. Also, don't forget that Ohtani probably also has bills to pay in Japan. Ippei and Ohtani had been friends for years and it's not surprising at all if Ippei has access to one or more of his accounts. His banking is much different than people with less than $250k in the bank account.

Ippei on record lied and he answered YES he lied during the follow-up phone call with Ms. Thompson… if your journalistic standards are dependent on Ippei, then good luck!