Shohei Ohtani’s longtime interpreter and friend Ippei Mizuhara is fired amid gambling allegations

The GIST: MLB’s season-opening Seoul Series quickly became overshadowed by scandal after news broke Wednesday that LA Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s longtime interpreter and friend Ippei Mizuhara had been fired amid allegations he stole millions from Ohtani to pay off his gambling debts. Jaw-dropping doesn’t even begin to cover it.

The details: The scandal surrounds at least $4.5M in wire transfers that were sent from Ohtani’s bank account to an illegal bookmaking operation that’s under federal investigation. Mizuhara — who’s been by the three-time MVP’s side since 2013 — reportedly incurred the debts.

The twist: Tuesday, the day before Ohtani’s highly anticipated Dodgers debut, Mizuhara sat down with ESPN to discuss the allegations. In the 90-minute interview, he said that Ohtani transferred the funds to cover Mizuhara’s gambling debt and that the two-way star “had zero involvement in betting.”

• Then came the pivot. The next day, Ohtani’s attorneys disavowed Mizuhara’s account, releasing a statement saying, “Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft,” before calling for an investigation into the matter.

• Mizuhara himself recanted his original story before being fired on Wednesday. Hmm.

Zooming out: The change in story has unsurprisingly led to rampant speculation and conspiracy theories, but the whole saga has also thrust the impact of sports betting back under the microscope. This week alone has brought this latest Ohtani news, sports betting–NBA fans crossing the line, and insight into how the recent proliferation of sports betting is impacting player mental health.