No One Is Asking Questions About Shohei Ohtani After Briefly Speaking English

Shohei Ohtani is a World Series champion in his first season in Los Angeles. And some people are clearly not happy about it.

The 2024 season for Ohtani started with the news that his then-interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, had been gambling on sports. Within a few hours and in the ensuing days, the scale of Mizuhara’s gambling issue became more clear. 

In just a few years after meeting a bookie at a poker game run by Angels player David Fletcher, Mizuhara had gambled millions of dollars. And he took the money from a bank account he’d help set up for Ohtani when Shohei first came to America.

Many fans immediately jumped to conclusions, assuming that Ohtani must have been aware or even directing the gambling activities. But a detailed, thorough federal investigation concluded that Mizuhara had stolen from Ohtani without his knowledge. And they included dozens of specific pieces of information showing exactly how he did it. 

Somehow, that hasn’t been enough. And because Ohtani briefly spoke English at the Dodgers celebratory parade, there’s a new Hail Mary trying to reconnect Ohtani to Mizuhara’s gambling.

READ: Shohei Ohtani Speaking Perfect English During Parade Has People Asking Questions

But it’s just as wrong now as it was then.

LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani reacts as teammate Tommy Edman (not pictured) of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a RBI single against the New York Mets inning of game 2 of a National League Championship Series playoff baseball game at Dodger Stadium on Monday, October 14, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

Shohei Ohtani Did Not Gamble On Sports

The federal investigation revealed an overwhelming case against Mizuhara and supporting Ohtani’s innocence.

• Mizuhara had helped Ohtani set up a bank account, providing him with the login information and account details
• He changed the notification settings so that only Mizuhara would get notice when money came into or out of the account
• All of the winnings went directly into Mizuhara’s personal account
• He repeatedly impersonated Ohtani on the phone with the bank, with investigators reviewing recordings of Mizuhara’s voice
• There were hundreds of text messages between Mizuhara and the bookie, with the interpreter repeatedly asking for higher markers. Had Ohtani been backing Mizuhara, those conversations would have been unnecessary
• The bookie’s representatives once threatened to tell Ohtani that Mizuhara wasn’t paying, which wouldn’t have been necessary had Ohtani known about the activity
• There were zero texts between Ohtani and Mizuhara about sports betting
• Mizuhara went to a casino school, and lied about his educational background
• The interpreter admitted in a text to the bookie’s representatives that he’d stolen from Ohtani

There is not a single piece of evidence tying Ohtani to sports betting activity, and dozens of pieces confirming he wasn’t involved. Speaking a few sentences of English thanking fans and saying it was an “honor” to be part of the team doesn’t change that. Because Ohtani didn’t speak any English when setting up the bank account when he first came to America. And his language skills would have nothing to do with the other details revealed by the feds.

Quite literally nothing about this story has changed, and no one who’s actually looked at the investigation report would have reason to doubt it. Unfortunately, it’ll apparently never be enough.