Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter fired after ‘massive theft’ allegations
The Los Angeles Dodgers have fired the longtime interpreter and friend of superstar Shohei Ohtani following allegations of “massive theft”.
Ippei Mizuhara, who has been alongside Japanese baseball sensation Ohtani since his 2018 MLB debut, is accused of using funds from the player’s bank account to pay off gambling debts.
Ohtani (L) at his first Los Angeles Dodgers news conference with his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara in December 2023. Pic: Kyodo via AP
Ohtani’s lawyers told the Los Angeles Times that Mr Mizuhara placed bets with an allegedly illegal bookmaker, who is reportedly under federal investigation.
ESPN reported at least $4.5m (£3.5m) had been transferred from Ohtani’s account to a Southern California gambling operation.
Mr Mizuhara, who gave his account in an interview with the US sport network on Tuesday night, lost his job after reporters started asking questions about the wire transfers.
“Obviously, this is all my fault, everything I’ve done,” he told ESPN. “I’m ready to face all the consequences.”
He said his bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football – but never baseball.
Initially he said Ohtani had agreed to cover his gambling debts. A day later, he said the player had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers, ESPN reported.
A spokesman for Ohtani said his lawyers would issue a statement.
“In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft, and we are turning the matter over to the authorities,” law firm Berk Brettler LLP said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
When asked by ESPN after the statement was issued if he had been accused of theft, Mr Mizuhara said he was told he could not comment.
Ohtani and Mr Mizuhara have known each other for years. Pic: Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports via Reuters
The Dodgers confirmed to Reuters and the Associated Press in a statement that Mr Mizuhara had been fired.
They said they were “aware of media reports and are gathering information”.
Sports betting is legal in up to 40 US states, but is still outlawed in California.
MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from gambling – even legally – on baseball and also ban betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.
Ohtani is a pitcher and designated hitter. Pic: AP
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Ohtani signed a record-breaking $700m (£557m) deal with the LA Dodgers in December.
The 29-year-old pitcher and designated hitter agreed the historic 10-year contract with the California team after six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.
The team is in Seoul, South Korea, this week as Ohtani makes his Dodgers debut.
He had two hits and an RBI in the opening 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres in MLB’s first regular season game in the South Korean capital.
Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka. Pic: AP
Despite his global stardom, the player has remained largely media-shy.
On Thursday, however, he shared a photo of his wife on Instagram, ending weeks of speculation after revealing last month he was married.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.
Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.
Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.
Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
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Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
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In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
Read more from Sky News:
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
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