Shohei Ohtani's debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers has been memorable for all the wrong reasons. After nearly a week of silence amid a very public gambling scandal that has gripped the team, Ohtani will address the controversy on Monday. The Dodgers were in Seoul, Korea for a two-game series against the San Diego Padres to kick off the season, but the team was publicly mum about the controversy when asked about it in interviews.
The trouble started when Ohtani's interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired from the Dodgers for his alleged involvement with an alleged illegal betting ring that resulted in at least $4.5 million worth of debt for Mizuhara and, according to Ohtani's representatives, "massive theft" from the star baseball player's banks accounts.
Mizuhara claimed in an ESPN interview that Ohtani agreed to pay the gambling debts and facilitated several wire transfers to alleged illegal bookmaker, Matthew Bowyer. Mizuhara later retracted his statement, according to ESPN, and said Ohtani did not have any knowledge or involvement with his gambling debts.
The bombshell story has engulfed Major League Baseball since the story broke Wednesday and MLB announced Friday that it has officially opened an investigation into the matter.
MLB players and staff are allowed to bet on other sports legally, but cannot bet on baseball. MLB also has rules against players betting with illegal bookmakers and sports betting is not yet legal in the Golden State.
While there have been no claims that Ohtani himself placed any wagers, or that any of Mizuhara's bets were on baseball, the two-time MVP's proximity to Mizuhara has skeptics asking what he knew about his interpreter's debts. Exactly how much light Ohtani will shed on the matter is the key question ahead of Monday's planned press conference.
