Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and his translator Ippei Mizuhara recently became the focus of an investigation regarding sports betting involving an illegal bookmaker in California (sports betting is not legal there). I covered a few of the details in this article here last week.
Monday, Ohtani held a news conference to address the situation. Or, I should more correctly say, he made a statement in front of reporters and did not take questions. You can read Ohtani’s entire statement here (it’s an Athletic article, subscription required).
Here are the most important parts, summarized by the Associated Press:
“I am very saddened and shocked someone whom I trusted has done this,” the Japanese star said while sitting next to Will Ireton, the team’s manager of performance operations, who translated.