Shohei Ohtani says he has never gambled on sports and didn\'t instruct his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, to wire money from his account to pay a bookmaker.
Mizuhara \"has been stealing money from us and has told lies,\" Ohtani said while speaking through his new interpreter, Will Ireton, the Los Angeles Dodgers\' manager of performance operations.
\"On a personal note,\" Ohtani said, \"I\'m very sad and shocked that someone who I\'ve trusted has done this.\"
Ohtani, speaking to more than 70 media members, had notes prepared in Japanese within a black folder that was open in front of him but read from it only occasionally. He did not take follow-up questions.
\"I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to do that on my behalf,\" Ohtani said through his new interpreter. \"I have never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports. Up until a couple of days ago, I didn\'t know that this was happening.\"