Wrinkle to the story is Mizuhara said yesterday he'd stood over Ohtanis shoulder as Ohtani personally wired the money to the illegal bookie. Now today Ohtanis Lawyers and the Dodgers are saying Ohtani had no knowledge whatsoever.
Initially, a spokesman for Ohtani told ESPN the slugger had transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara's gambling debt. The spokesman presented Mizuhara to ESPN for a 90-minute interview Tuesday night, during which Mizuhara laid out his account in great detail. However, as ESPN prepared to publish the story Wednesday, the spokesman disavowed Mizuhara's account and said Ohtani's lawyers would issue a statement.
"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," read the statement from Berk Brettler LLP.
The spokesman declined to answer any further questions, and the statement did not specify whom they believe perpetrated the alleged theft
Multiple sources, including Mizuhara, told ESPN that Ohtani does not gamble, and that the funds covered Mizuhara's losses.
ESPN had reviewed bank information showing Ohtani's name on two $500,000 payments sent last September and October.
In the Tuesday interview arranged by Ohtani's spokesman, Mizuhara, 39, told ESPN that he asked Ohtani last year to pay off his gambling debt, which multiple sources said had ballooned to at least $4.5 million. Mizuhara said that he previously had placed bets via DraftKings and assumed bets placed through Bowyer were legal.
"I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again."
But on Wednesday afternoon, Mizuhara told ESPN that Ohtani had no knowledge of his gambling debts and that Ohtani had not transferred money to the bookmaker's associate.
Mizuhara told ESPN on Tuesday his bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football.
"I never bet on baseball," Mizuhara said. "That's 100%. I knew that rule ... We have a meeting about that in spring training."
After Ohtani agreed to pay the debts, Mizuhara said on Tuesday, Ohtani logged onto his own computer and sent the wire transfers under Mizuhara's supervision in installments over several months last year. They added "loan" to the description field in the transactions.
Asked why Ohtani didn't simply give him the money instead of paying Bowyer's associate directly, Mizuhara said Ohtani didn't trust him with the money. "He didn't want me to gamble it away," Mizuhara said.
Mizuhara, though, Wednesday afternoon, walked back much of what he had said late Tuesday, saying Ohtani had no knowledge of his gambling activities, debts or efforts to repay them.
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