Ohtani says he never bet on sports, accuses interpreter of stealing money, lying

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani said Monday he never bet on sports and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stole money from him and told lies.

Ohtani held 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 US.

“I am very saddened and shocked someone whom I trusted has done this,” the Japanese star said sitting next to Will Ireton, the team’s manager of performance operations, who translated.

Ohtani spoke for nearly 12 minutes, referring to