Every unanswered question worth asking about Shohei Ohtani, interpreter gambling scandal

Shohei Ohtani is the biggest name in baseball. You'd think he'd be making headlines at the start of the MLB season for all the right reasons. You'd be wrong.

The new Los Angeles Dodgers star became embroiled in a shocking scandal on Wednesday after his lawyers released a statement claiming he was the subject of a "massive theft." His close friend and fan-favorite interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was the alleged thief.

That was shocking enough. Then more reporting broke revealing that Mizuhara was linked to an allegedly illegal gambling operation being investigated by the feds. Then there was confusion as conflicting stories emerged about Mizuhara's gambling debts and Ohtani's knowledge or involvement in them.

Tisha Thompson of ESPN has the most thorough look at the scandal so far. But we've still got questions. A lot of them.

The Shohei Ohtani interpreter gambling scandal has more questions than answers

Exactly how involved was Shohei Ohtani?

Ohtani's lawyers, Mizuhara and even the attorney for the allegedly illegal bookmaker told ESPN that the baseball star was not involved in gambling at all. That's been the only consistent refrain from all parties.

But there's also this from ESPN about Mathew Bowyer, the bookie: "The source said Bowyer allowed people to believe Ohtani was a client in order to boost business."

That's an interesting wrinkle that won't stop people from wondering just how trustworthy Ohtani, Mizuhara or Bowyer are on this subject.

Were MLB games involved?

Mizuhara vehemently denies he bet on MLB games. He claims his bets were on international soccer, NBA, NFL and college football games.

Federal authorities investigating Bowyer will presumably have records of whether that's the truth. Clarifying that is a big deal in all this.

Why did Ippei Mizuhara's story change so drastically?

The timeline of events is a problem for everyone involved. Here's what we've pieced together:

An Ohtani spokesperson told ESPN that the player paid off the interpreter's gambling debts.

During an interview with ESPN on Tuesday, Mizuhara detailed how Ohtani agreed to pay off those debts, sending installments to an associate of Bowyer's over the course of several months in 2023. He said that Ohtani himself sent the wire transfers from his personal computer.

After the interview, ESPN followed up with Ohtani's camp about those specific claims, specifically Ohtani's direct involvement. This time, they got the lawyers involved.

On Wednesday, Ohtani's attorneys issued their statement alleging a "massive theft." Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers and he completely changed his tune, insisting Ohtani knew absolutely nothing. Now, Ohtani wasn't present when the money was transferred. He never agreed to repay the debts. In fact, he wasn't even aware of Mizuhara's gambling problem at all.

The story could not have changed more drastically. So what's true? Version A? Or Version B? And why did it change?

What changed after Ippei Mizuhara addressed the Dodgers clubhouse?

Maybe the question isn't "why did it change?" Maybe it's "what changed?"

After Wednesday's game in South Korea, Mizuhara gave the Dodgers clubhouse a heads-up that a story about his gambling addiction would be coming out. He took responsibility and the Dodgers let him explain himself to the team.

Then something changed. Then he got fired. Again, what changed?

Why were Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara so chummy during the Seoul Series?

This is what Ohtani and Mizuhara looked like just a few hours before the former's lawyers would accuse the latter of stealing $4.5 million.

How did Ippei Mizuhara gain access to Ohtani's finances?

If we believe the story that Mizuhara stole $4.5 million from Ohtani without his knowledge, how did that happen?

Yes, $4.5 million isn't that much in the grand scheme of Ohtani's vast wealth. But multiple payments of $500,000, as ESPN reports were paid in September and October of 2023, shouldn't go unnoticed, no matter how rich you are.

Was Ohtani's financial manager sleeping on the job?

Is MLB going to get involved?

An MLB source told ESPN the league has not been contacted by authorities. But the league has not released an official statement acknowledging the scandal.

The Athletic was told by an MLB official that Ohtani is "not currently facing discipline."

What if Mizuhara's first account was true? What if Ohtani was present and aware when millions of dollars from his accounts were sent to an allegedly illegal bookmaker? Would that change the equation?

Does it matter that Ohtani's name is on transactions totaling millions of dollars sent to someone involved in an illegal gambling scheme, whether it was done to aid a friend or not?

What's MLB's next move? Will they investigate? Will they seek to answer these questions? Or will the scandal get swept under the rug and fester?

There's too much about this situation that's unclear. The sooner answers come, the better.