“This gonna break the internet” – MLB fans shocked as league begins official investigation of allegations around Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara
Shohei Ohtani’s Former Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara & MLB commissioner Rob Manfred
MLB announced on Friday that the league began a formal investigation into the Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara situation that unfolded earlier this week. Mizuhara was recently fired from the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of game 2 of the Seoul Series.
Initial reports of the story were that Mizuhara had come into debt with a California bookkeeper, and Ohtani wired $4.5 million to help his friend. Later, Ohtani’s legal team argued that he was the victim of “massive theft.”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement on the investigation Friday. He stated that the league’s Department of Investigation will handle the situation, and their work has already begun.
Shohei Ohtani is expected to remain on the team’s roster during the investigation. However, there is no telling what could come of this. Sports betting is prohibited in the state of California.
While the start of the season should be the talking point, this situation has overshadowed that. Fans cannot believe this situation occurred to somebody as noble as Ohtani.
“This gonna break the internet” one fan posted.
“This would end baseball” another fan posted.
To make it abundantly clear, Ohtani has never been accused of placing any bets. Sources close to the situation and Mizuhara himself have made it a point to make sure people know Ohtani is not a betting man.
The Situation between Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara is confusing
Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara (Image via Getty)
When the story was first reported, Ippei Mizuhara spoke with ESPN to allegedly tell his side. He alleged that Shohei Ohtani had wired the money to a California bookie to help Mizuhara get out of debt.
ESPN said they were in contact with a crisis communications specialist working for Ohtani. This person stated that Mizuhara used his role as interpreter to control the communication to and from Ohtani, allowing for inconsistent accounts of the situation.
After more reports emerged about the situation, Mizuhara backtracked on what he told ESPN. He told them he had lied in the initial interview and that he was not being paid to clear Ohtani’s name.
Fans have no idea what to think now, and this is just terrible publicity for Ohtani and the league as a whole. This story will be a talking point until all the facts are sorted out.
For now, all fans can do is speculate. There is no timetable set for the league to finish its investigation.
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