Otani Gambling Scandal It's Not the End questions raised by the U.S. media

While Major League Baseball's Shohei Ohtani (30, Los Angeles Dodgers) rejected rumors of his involvement in illegal gambling, saying he did not know about the gambling of interpreter Ifei Mizuhara (40), it has been claimed that an additional gambling scandal could break out.

On the 22nd (local time), the U.S. sports media The Athletic published an article on its website titled "Tani Shohei's gambling scandal will not be the last."

Writer Keith O'Brien, who wrote the contribution, claimed that "the actual truth of the scandal currently taking place is still not revealed," referring to Mizuhara's initial statement with ESPN that "Otani has decided to pay back $4.5 million in gambling debt."

Regardless of the outcome, it is true that Mizuhara bet on soccer, not baseball, he said. "The suspicion that the top baseball star of the time was involved in illegal gambling and remittances of millions of dollars is a nightmare for the baseball world."

"If the world's most famous baseball player and someone (Mizuhara) who has access to the Major League Baseball locker room every day could owe $4.5 million in gambling debt, what would be happening behind it?" he asked.

Sports business expert Joe Pompliano also wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) on the 26th that questions remain about Ohtani's press conference.

He raised two suspicions. How did Ohtani's interpreter, Mizuhara Itpay, have access to his account and how he did not know that huge amounts of money have been withdrawn over several months? "Until I hear the answers to these two questions, I can't believe anything," he said.

Pompliano has repeatedly questioned Ohtani's alleged involvement in illegal gambling.

"I never gambled or intentionally sent money to a gambler," Ohtani said at a press conference held at Dodger Stadium in California on the 26th (Korea time). "It's very sad and shocking that someone I trusted did this. It's hard to put into words how I feel right now."

"I didn't gamble. Rather, Mizuhara stole money from my account. Also, he lied that he had been communicating with me continuously," he claimed. "Now that this season starts, lawyers will take care of this matter from now on. I will only focus on the game."

The press conference, which drew global media attention, was held ahead of an exhibition game between the Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels. There was no question-and-answer session, and the session took place by reading the manuscript that Ohtani had prepared in advance for 12 minutes. The translation was conducted by Will Ireton, a Japanese-born man. No questions were asked, and taking photos was banned.

The U.S. media is still questionable about Ohtani's explanation.

Yahoo Sports reported, "How did no one notice the disappearance of $4.5 million from an MLB player's account? If Mizuhara's theft is true, it is shocking that no one has noticed the remittance."

Forbes also raised suspicions about Ohtani's possible involvement.

"If Ohtani did not know about the $4.5 million remittance, Mizuhara is likely to be additionally charged with fraud and identity theft," Forbes said in an article titled "Why is Ohtani hard to be innocent in a gambling scandal" on the 24th (local time).

"(This) would have been possible only if Ohtani's personal information documents were stolen or forged," he said. "It is almost impossible to transfer a large amount from someone else's account without knowing it for months."

"The issue not mentioned at the press conference is how Mizuhara accessed Ohtani's account and whether Ohtani did not receive a notification about the remittance," he said. "Given the amount, the bank must have raised the notification."

In Major League Baseball, players or club employees can be restricted from participating for one year or permanently expelled if they engage in illegal sports gambling.

Mizuhara has been an interpreter and friend of Ohtani for more than seven years since he played for the Nippon-Ham Fighters in the Japanese professional baseball league. However, he was fired by the LA Dodgers after the first round of the Seoul Series on the 21st for allegedly gambling illegally and stealing Ohtani's money.

BY: 안전놀이터 추천