Not the first athlete to get ripped off by a trusted advisor.

Ippei has a history of gambling, Shohei has no history nor any interest of gambling, and Ippie is known for lying. In 2018 Ippei claims that he graduated from the University of California-Riverside in 2007, and also claimed he workedcl as an interpreter for the Red Sox in 2012, that also was false on Ippeis part.

You people are too unimaginative. What if Mizuhara was required to translate all documents and remittances? Wouldn't it have been easier for him to get Shohei's consent by pretending the money transfer was necessary? And you have too little knowledge about people with gambling addictions. They lie all the time.

People are really misunderstanding the entire situation. The initial statement is that Ippei said Ohtani bailed him out from gambling debts, Ohtani & his legal team said he did not do that and the money was stolen from him. Then, Ippei walked back his initial statement and we later found out he lied about his previous employments and school attendance. That’s the issue. How the hell did people spin this into “ohTaNi iS a gAmBLer, hE’s tHe nEw PeTe RoSe”?

No illegal bookmaking outfit is letting a guy who just started making 300k a year a couple years back get 4.5mil deep. Those dudes arent stupid.

It's been reported that these guys were very tight. They were together 24/7. What's most probable? Certainly the pitcher has control over the outcome of a game. Great time to be alive.

I dont know how this will turn out but what annoys me is the Dodgers Fans acting like they've Known Ohtani for years as a personal friend, No way he could be involved in such a thing.

Even a married couple don’t know each other’s spending until it shocks one of them. I don’t think Ohtani was paying Xfinity, PGE and water company and all other places that he has to make payments to. Who did? It must be Ippei. That’s how he had an access to Ohtani’s bank account. Ohtani doesn’t care much about how much money is in the bank. He trusted Ippei. Well, everybody is entitled to his or her own version of Ohtani’s story😂

If he was robbed then shouldn't the other guy be in jail?

The questions Ohtani needs to answer are those asked by the police and prosecutors. Beyond that, he doesn’t owe any explanations to anyone.

People close to Ohtani state he doesn’t gamble. His former teammates stated as fact he doesn’t gamble. What it appears happened is Ohtani realized Ippe had lied to him a lot when he lied to the team in front of Ohtani about what happened. Seems like Yamamoto’s interpreter probably told Shohei what was actually said. There’s no indication Ohtani did anything wrong. Ohtani focuses his time on baseball. That’s it.

Actually, Ohtani doesn't have to say ANYTHING to the vipers in the Mainstream Media like you Rich Eisen.

Enjoying the show and the hard hitting questions that they don’t like , keep asking the questions.

People have already made up their mind without even seeing any evidence. Everyone is a judge.

Its not at all surprising to hear that an illegal bookie would leverage a person's known association with a very wealthy and famous athlete by continuously extending a line of credit. There are numerous possible reasons all this happened and none of them are going to be as fantastical as we want it to be.

i love how no one wants to believe it's Ohtani, when any other version of the story is ludicrous.

Red Sox said don’t bring us in this AT ALL 💀💀

“He will rake , one way or another”

I wonder if there are any Sportsbook taking bets on when Ohtani will admit her was betting on Baseball. And you don’t believe he was betting on Baseball, then ask yourself, why hide your bets with an illegal bookie!?!

Ohtani has so much money already he doesn't need to gamble, come on people it's common sense, he is the most Ernest person on this earth.

Who knew the sequel to ‘Lost in Translation’ would be Monday afternoon in LA

FIY,Ippei was born in Japan & raised in America...

Some people may suspect Shohei Ohtani as a scapegoat, but that's simply not plausible. He's shown unicorn-like performances, and that's the answer. Someone who produces such miraculous results wouldn't waste energy on gambling. He's not just a hitter like Pete Rose; he's also a top-tier pitcher in the majors. That's the whole answer.

I am no fan of the Dodgers but I do believe that Shohei is innocent and was taken advantage of.

FBI is also investigating the case, so there is no possibility of a cover-up, and it is clear that there is no way for ohtani to lie, since he has already filed a criminal complaint against mizuhara, so why are the short-sighted people screaming "cover up"?😂

Bookies don't give 4.5 million dollar LOC accounts to people making 300k.

There are people who make bets they can't afford every day. Bookie dont care the interpreter makes 300k/yr. Bookie knows he better get the money and that's all he cares about.

He knows very well that if this matter is dug into this later and this press conference is a big lie, Otani himself will suffer further damage. So this is the truth. But of course, it's true that he was also at fault. That's believing in Suwon too much. Also, those who hurt irresponsibly or commented on speculation should apologize to him and his fans, that's all.

If Ohtani paid an illegal bookmaker he needs to get a year suspension. If he gambled on games he was involved in, he needs the boot

Ippei Mizuhara was not only the interpreter, but also Otani's only manager, apparently responsible for transferring expenses and other important tasks during Otani's hospitalization. 水原一平は、通訳だけではなく、大谷さんのただ一人のマネージャーとして、経費の振り込み等、その他の重要な仕事を大谷の入院中にも担っていたらしい。

My Japanese is spotty, but I think Ippei Mizuhara loosely translates into "under the bus you go" or a more literal translation would be "under the bullet train you go" but we don't have those in America

Do you know what a parlay is ? hahah. That had me going. :-)

Occam's razor: the simplest explanation is often the correct one.

It’s awesome to see Rich’s journalistic nerd side come out. You can tell he loves reviewing and breaking this stuff down and throwing in nuggets of journalistic education in there.

Go Rich !!!

This is all Ohtani's teammate's fault Bookie Betts

Interpretor is shown to be a liar, gambling addict, and a thief, yet people believe his statements? sounds like people are criminalizing a victim (Ohtani), and victimizing a criminal (Mizuhara). That's why our justice system is such a failure.

Confirmed. I was eating dinner on the East coast 5:45pm and listening to the press conference. Still didn’t answer any questions really.

You don’t achieve absolution via making claims about people. Shohei is in a bad spot, and yall just want to call him names. Weak. Show me proof or something that actually matters.

He’s innocent. Bookies camp admitted that Shohei had nothing to do it.

LARCENY BY TRICK. Everyone should google this legal term. Even if Shohei sent money electronically to the bookmaker, it is still NOT ILLEGAL if Shohei was tricked into paying off the debt by being told that it was a loan debt, not a gambling debt. The answer is in front of all where the transfer says, "loan." Shohei was tricked into paying off the gambling debt by being told it was just a personal loan debt. That is LARCENY BY TRICK, i.e. THEFT! Shohei is INNOCENT if this is the case.

Why not use translation machines?

Didn't they discover that the interpreter has been lying about his background for quite awhile? Didn't attend UC Riverside like he said. Never interpreted for the Red Soxs like he said. There are things about his background that doesn't match up, which leads to some credibility that he lied to Shohei about the money. Whether the interpreter had access to Shohei's bank account, I don't know, but it's possible depending on how much Shohei trusted him. Then again, banks usually check to confirm wires of this amount, but they usually just call. How will they know the interpreter from Shohei if the interpreter does all the talking for him. OR, this is just Shohei throwing the interpreter under the bus.

The simplest explanation is usually what happened. If he had been robbed that would have been said from the start. That would have made it easy and true. You have an interpreter who works for a famous athlete who doesn’t speak the language and who can much more easily take care of things besides interpreting than the famous athlete can.

interim tag on the interpreter is great 😂

The key are the wire payments...they don't magically occur. Who sent the wires? What bank was used? That's really all this controversy boils down to.

Take notes Pedro Rose. Chisana Mondai. Douitashi mashite.

Here it is……if they were as close as everyone says, then there is NO WAY Ohtani didn’t know about his buddy’s gambling, NO WAY!

He doesn't "need" to answer to anyone but the investigators and the Dodgers. And he really doesn't need to talk to anyone but his Lawyers. Certainly doesn't need to talk to the press.

Wow. How good do the Braves and Anthopoulos look right now for not going after this guy too hard?

# FreeOhtani ✊

I figured it all out. Ippei Mizuhara is George Santos.

My goodness what a mess

Lifetime Ban from Baseball and an IRS audit.... oh wait. That'll never happen.

He should run for congress. He'd be perfect.

4.5 million? How without Ohtani knowing?

If they say it was stolen then that also means Ohtani is sending his friend to prison for about 10 years.

Some people are saying they were betting together, why would Shohei rack up $4 million dollars in debt, that's why I knew right away Shohei was innocent, he would never be in debt, he makes over $100 million dollars in endorsements alone.

Based on what I think I know about Shohei's character I think his statement will be 1) I do not / have never bet on any sports, 2) Ippei's original statement is correct, 3) the crisis team made a statement on his behalf without his approval, 4) I will be willing to fully cooperate with any investigation and will be willing to accept any punishment.

Only admir when there is no other option......deny deny deny......if you admit, then admit only to the smallest degree and only admit to "poor judgement"......and only admit to non suspension offenses

Can we get an over/ under on Shoheis Suspension? 90/120 games.

Shoeless Jackson to the HALL OF FAME

"Do you know what boxcars are?"

It would have been better to wait until after Ohtani's press appearance on Monday before going through a litany of potential questions. Anyway, I listened to the full public statements by Ohtani and found him both sincere and very credible. He said he never bet on sports or had anyone bet on his behalf. He said he was unaware of Ippei's gambling addiction and that Ippei lied about the matter once it came to public attention that a bookie had Ohtani's name in his records. So the gist of this is that Ohtani's close friend, translator and associate betrayed him. There seems to be a contingent of haters posting here and elsewhere who distrust Ohtani's statements. That's their problem, slandering a man whose character has been well-established for many years now. Let the investigations go forward and see what more might be uncovered. But for now, I believe Ohtani has spoken honestly on the main points. Naturally, most of us would like to know how Ippei had so much access to at least one account with Ohtani's money. But it seems clear that Ohtani trusted his friend, and Ippei betrayed the trust. And, as mentioned in this video, it also seems clear now that Ippei lied about several key elements in his bio. Yikes, he may just be a convincing sociopath who finally met his reckoning. But the shadow this casts over Ohtani is really unfortunate. I do hope he will more thoroughly vet his associates and good friends moving forward.

Cant wait until someone does a deep dive into all involved. I wanna met the bookie. I wanna talk with the friends of the interpreter, etc etc

I am Japanese. Otani had prepared a script, but he changed it to his own words and spoke properly. I think the fact that he prepared a script shows his own sincerity in having to give an accurate timeline without omissions. This is a problem for the interpreter. Language barriers are difficult.

Bruh ohtani may of just did the rest of the legue a favor if he gets suspended for the year

You cant just trasfer millions of dollars without the primary person on the accont knowing. Omg has no one ever even tried to move 10grand... its a big hasstle

Just kinda strange to work in a country for seven years, have unlimited money for teachers, months off during the year to practice and still not give a damn to learn the primary language of the country in which you work.

The victim, Otani, is cooperating fully with the police. The press conference completely proves that he had nothing to do with the gambling.

Best interview question of 2024: “If the dealer is showing a 4, and you have a 16, what do you do?”

I heard he never takes any questions.

Ohtani needs to SHUT UP FOREVER

Ohtani is done.

I just hope he leads off with mookie batting second so we get Ohtani Betts all year long.

Denial Denial Denial by his legal representation

Pay 700 million and you get trouble!

The key question remaining unanswered to me is ... Was Ippei an authorized user/signer. co account owner on Ohtani's account? If so, then Ohtani still might be in some trouble, even if he didnt hit the send button on the transfers himself.

Imagine being so famous, that your team of lawyers, has to hire a PR firm, to get the story straight and get everyone on the same page. No thanks

Ohtani is guilty the wire transfers with his name on it is the tell tale sign he gotta be in on it you don’t transfer that much money on bet without asking questions

Chris Carter would be proud.

The only way for mlb to retain their integrity is to do the investigation, and if they have to suspend (or worse) their best player, they need to do it. Especially after how heavy handed they were to Pete Rose.

I have had money stolen from me for gambling. In my case, I gave my dad power of attorney while I was away in Iraq (and the amounts were far less yet for more in percent of "wealth"). I've said this a bunch of times. This needs to be investigated. It sounds like SOMEONE committed a crime at the very least. Those breaking rules need to face the consequences of those rules. Those breaking the law need to be tried under the law.

Thats smoke what The Dodgers but out for the bio of the interpreter.

Why is this even a story? Every sports league has embraced gambling and the revenue from the sports betting sites. To become all self righteous about it is hypocritical to say the least. Just enjoy the talent of this unique, once in a generation player.

From Japan 🇯🇵 we love Ohtani!! We know that a Baseball God loves him , he really made an effort. We see what he does his plays!! The one grown up in America who cheated a Japanese Baseball fans and sportsman ship

Betting on baseball is the big question.

2017-2024 is a long time to spread out embezzlement.

The interpreter who lied about his whole work career, college credentials, and is a degenerate gambler. The guy who has been mistranslating Shohei the whole time too. People actually believe this guy's version of events.

Ohtani couldve affored, and has access to the best selection of english interpreters. The fact they are trying to sell that he only had one dude conveying info to him Via english is bullshit.

So sad... I trust Shohei for what he do in life..

My only issue with the Dodgers and Shohei is that they shouldn’t be to defer the money he’s getting paid. It really gets old when teams just buy a championship. The Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers.

Same case for example The former personal assistant of ex-NBA player and ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson has been sentenced to prison after officials said he stole millions from the player, according to news outlets

I don’t care if he or his interpreter gambled, I care if they gambled on baseball.

It's like a thief asking his victim how he stole his property. That's a difficult question,

Jordan told him to go play hoops for a couple of years and maybe the problem will go away.

Question of the day: Has Pete Rose said anything yet?

The thing is Ohtani is to nice, first he deferred money just to make only $2 million dollars for the better of the team, and now lending his buddy Ippei money to help his debt. And Shohei get's the blame for both of that generosity.

😅The trolls are saying we got him now, even without any facts let's accuse him and try take him down, although his friend gambled but let's blame Shohei. Maybe he should've done what athletes do in the states, a hit on the spouse or a drive by, then will get a pat on the back.

I just have a hunch, and i hope im wrong, Ohtani might end up like Pete Rose at the end of this