Ohtani and the interpreter

[metirish]

This is wild , more to it ?


By Andy McCullough, Fabian Ardaya, Sam Blum and Britt Ghiroli

The Los Angeles Dodgers have fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, after Ohtani’s representatives accused Mizuhara of engaging in a “massive theft,” using the player’s money to place bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker under federal investigation.


“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,” Berk Brettler LLP, the firm representing Ohtani, said in a statement.

The accusation by Berk Brettler followed an inquiry from The Los Angeles Times. The newspaper learned Ohtani’s name surfaced in an investigation of an Orange County resident named Matthew Bowyer. Mizuhara, 39, placed bets with Bowyer, according to the newspaper.



https://theathletic.com/5357619/2024/03 ... ed-article

[Edgy MD]

Wow.

in 2024, I'd've figured there was little reason for people to do their gambling through an illegal bookmaker, but I guess the idea is to make your activity less traceable when the money you're gambling isn't yours.

Sounds like it's still an open question as to whether Ohtani is in the clear.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

This sounds like only the beginning

[Edgy MD]

Story gets front-page Times treatment.

[metirish]

[Frayed Knot]

I think generally when a team signs a new player to a decade long contract they like
to get at least to Day Two before a scandal breaks out around him. Oh well.

[Edgy MD]

While the two scenarios Braden mapped out are pretty much the main two I would suspect, his questions at the end seem a little obtuse.

Also, holy crap! I'm getting my analysis from Dallas Braden! Does Placido Polanco have a hot take?

[kcmets]

Wouldn't it something if the interpreter tells the Feds that he was
also placing baseball bets for Ohtani and he was banned for life?

Wouldn't it?

[Edgy MD]

It sure would. But it even if true, it wouldn't take much for the interpreter to come around to the position that it's more in his interest to take the bullet for his guy with the faith that his guy will take care of him and his down the road.

A perhaps-not-very-kind part of me wants this to explode into a disaster just to get MLB and organized gambling out of the same bed.

[metirish]

It sure would. But it even if true, it wouldn't take much for the interpreter to come around to the position that it's more in his interest to take the bullet for his guy with the faith that his guy will take care of him and his down the road.

A perhaps-not-very-kind part of me wants this to explode into a disaster just to get MLB and organized gambling out of the same bed.

This is a good point , in the EPL betting companies have become major players in sponsorship, Brentford FC player got Ivan Toney gets banned for eight months for gambling , their shirt sponsor is Hollywood Bets , from next season front of shirt sponsors from betting is banned , but pitch side is permitted

[metirish]

Yeah, I'm not buying this nonsense

[MFS62]

HAs anyone reported if the bets were on baseball, or other sports?
If not baseball - I wouldn't be angry at a one year suspension.
If baseball, Ohtani's involvement in paying off his pal's debt, I think that makes him liable for a suspension longer than that.

Then, there is the possibility that MLB seems to not be investigating, that Ohtani is the real gambler and the translator took one for the team.

In any event, the guy must have been good at translating the spoken word, but couldn't translate the written words about" No Betting" that are posted in every clubhouse.

Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

There's a long history of celebrities trusting the wrong people with their money. One specific example I remember reading about was Kirk Douglas. He had a trusted advisor who ended up siphoning off a large chunk of the actor's fortune.

[Fman99]

I wish I could glom on to some rich idiot celebrity and do some siphoning. That sounds like da life

[Lefty Specialist]

I wish I could glom on to some rich idiot celebrity and do some siphoning. That sounds like da life

Problem is, it very often takes a detour into prison time.

[metirish]

Here we go

[metirish]

Ohtani will speak to the media tomorrow, no idea on what , assuming he has a new interpreter

[Edgy MD]

My guess is that the interpreter will be his attorney and he won't be taking any questions.

[nymr83]

My guess is that the interpreter will be his attorney and he won't be taking any questions.

That is a solid bet. Odds are -600

[Frayed Knot]

Shohei in the midst of his press conference now ... but I can't understand a damn word he's saying!!

[MFS62]

From Yahoo sports

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani spoke to the media on Monday for the first time since his translator, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired following accusations that he stole more than $4 million from Ohtani to cover his illegal gambling debts.

In a roughly 12-minute statement, Ohtani denied having ever bet on sports and said repeatedly that Mizuhara had lied to him throughout the process.

"I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to do that on my behalf," Ohtani said through an intepreter. "And I have never been through a bookmaker to bet on sports."

https://sports.yahoo.com/shohei-ohtani- ... 33522.html

Later

[Centerfield]

"Up until a couple days ago, I didn't know that this was happening. ... In conclusion, Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies."

Obviously, I have no idea what actually happened, but I'm thinking that if Ohtani's lawyers let him issue a statement like this, then it must be that (a) Ohtani is telling the truth, or (b) the lawyers reasonably believe he's telling the truth, or (c) at the very least no one will be able to prove that it's not the truth.

It's one thing to cover your buddy's gambling debts not knowing it's a crime. It's another thing altogether to then accuse that guy of stealing.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Does anyone believe this isn't just "Ohtani's side of the story" until a more thorough investigation comes out?

[MFS62]

Obviously, I have no idea what actually happened, but I'm thinking that if Ohtani's lawyers let him issue a statement like this, then it must be that (a) Ohtani is telling the truth, or (b) the lawyers reasonably believe he's telling the truth, or (c) at the very least no one will be able to prove that it's not the truth.

I vote (c).
Later

[MFS62]

An editorial from the Toronto Globe and Mail.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/ ... -gambling/
(paywall protected, so I'll post excerpts)

Now that gambling is legal almost everywhere, those moral guardrails are coming down. It’s just sports leagues vs. players, and the leagues are losing.

On Monday, we had two examples from either end of the talent spectrum.

In Los Angeles, Shohei Ohtani, reading off a script, told reporters that he’d never bet on baseball. According to Ohtani, his gambling-addict interpreter wired US$4.5-million to a bookie from his account, using his name. Ohtani didn’t notice the money was missing.

To hear him tell it, Ohtani had been the victim of the world’s easiest heist, and may also employ the world’s worst accountant. End of story.

“I’m glad we had this opportunity to talk,” Ohtani said in closing.

He hadn’t taken any questions.

Elsewhere on Monday, ESPN reported the NBA is investigating Jontay Porter, a midseason replacement pickup on the Toronto Raptors.

In January, Porter was getting regular minutes. One evening, a line was set for a set of prop bets particular to him. Over/unders like how many points he might get that night (+/- 5.5) or three pointers he would sink (+/- 0.5).
As it turned out, Porter had an injury. He played only a couple of minutes that night. His stat line was minimal.
According to ESPN, DraftKings told the NBA that more money had been won on Porter’s three-point over-under that evening than on any other NBA prop bet. A couple of days later, it happened again. Other betting outfits reported people trying to lay unusually large bets – many thousands of dollars – on Porter props.

What is the truth of either case? It doesn’t really matter. What matters is that they both look terrible. It matters that stories like this have begun landing with regularity.

If people start to suspect that what they are seeing is fixed, even fixed just a little, the sports-wagering industry starts coming apart at the seams. Leagues are so intertwined with gambling that any collapse on one side triggers one on the other.

The answer to this problem is so obvious that no one can bring themselves to discuss it – zero tolerance of gambling or any gambling-adjacent behaviour by professional athletes.

You want to play professional whatever? Great. No gambling. Ever. On anything sports related. If they catch you with a betting slip, you’re done.

No advertising for bookmakers, ever. No showing up at parties. No getting photographed in front of an ad banner. Athletes should fear to be seen in the proximity of anything gambling related.

The penalties should be simple – first time caught, a two- or three-year ban from the sport. Second time, banned for life.

If your first time is betting on your own sport, straight to Option 2.

No excuses. No mitigating factors. No ‘my cousin didn’t tell me what he was doing’ or ‘the interpreter pays my hydro bill so how would I know?’ No presumption of innocence. It should be on athletes to prove they are cleaner than clean.
That’s one way to go. The other way is the certain knowledge that another Black Sox scandal is coming, and that this one will be much worse.
Right now, sports is in the ‘getting what you wish for’ phase. It wanted gambling money, so now it’s got gambling problems. New ones that it is unequipped to handle.

Even Pete Rose knows sports is playing a losing hand.

After Ohtani’s presser, Rose jumped on X to sum up what he’s learned after 35 years in the wilderness: “Back in the seventies and eighties, I wish I’d had an interpreter.”

I agree with his penalty options.
Later