LOS ANGELES (AP) Shohei Ohtani said Monday he never bet on sports or knowingly paid any gambling debts accumulated by his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Instead, the Los Angeles Dodgers star claims his close friend lied to him for years and stole millions from the two-time MVP.
Ohtani gave his version of events during a news conference at Dodger Stadium, five days after Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well over $1 million.
I am very saddened and shocked someone whom I trusted has done this, the Japanese star said while sitting next to Will Ireton, the teams manager of performance operations, who translated.
Ippei has …
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