Shohei Ohtani’s latest strange and unnecessary denial only heightens suspicions

Shohei Ohtani formally addressed the media on Monday in regards to a betting scandal centered on his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. In his comments, Ohtani denied all knowledge of Mizuhara's gambling and reiterated, for the cameras, that he has never bet on baseball or interacted with an illegal bookmaker.

Still, questions remain about the veracity of Ohtani's evolving story. Initially, Ohtani's reps told ESPN that the 29-year-old wired $4.5 million to an illegal bookmaker to cover Mizuhara's gambling debt. Then, the story changed, with Ohtani pivoting to accuse Mizuhara of theft, saying he was willfully deceived by a friend.

The explanation was rather simple, if at the same time, a bit convoluted. Ohtani's reps said Mizuhara was initially controlling the flow of information to and from Ohtani. Allegedly, the two-way star didn't figure out the true nature of the ordeal until after Mizuhara addressed the Los Angeles Dodgers locker room on March 17 in Seoul, South Korea.

Notably, per ESPN's recounting of events, the initial story from Mizuhara emphasized that Ohtani was paying off his debts and that the Dodgers' DH did not know he was wiring money to an illegal bookie. When Ohtani and his camp revised the storyline, however, it was said Ohtani was unaware that the funds were missing until now.

Ohtani and the Dodgers probably hoped his one-sided press conference, with no questions or cameras allowed, might silence the noise currently engulfing the franchise. That is not the case. Ohtani is still under fire, and the latest revelation could increase the level of scrutiny.

According to ESPN's Tisha Thompson, who originally broke the Ohtani scandal, the DH's reps refused to specify which authorities the alleged theft was reported to.

Shohei Ohtani won't tell reporters which agency is investigating Ippei Mizuhara's alleged theft

Here is the current legal situation, as outlined by ESPN. Ohtani's reps told reporters on Thursday that he officially submitted the allegation to law enforcement.

"Multiple sources told ESPN that neither the California Bureau of Investigation nor the FBI was working the case. Spokespersons with the Los Angeles Police Department and district attorney's offices in Los Angeles and Orange counties all said they were not investigating, and they indicated it was most likely a federal matter. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California declined to comment."

There could be any number of reasons for Ohtani's lack of forthrightness, of course. He is not technically obligated to hold our hand and tell us every detail of this scandal. It would surely help clear up the negative press, but he can operate vaguely if he wants. That is his right.

Maybe there's an actual legal reason. Perhaps Ohtani's lawyers are simply telling him to lay low; there is a lot at stake when someone is accused of stealing $4.5 million. Maybe the authorities asked him not to speak, so as to avoid drawing more unwanted attention to the investigation.

That is all speculation, though. It's a bit odd that none of the standard agencies are openly investigating the matter or even leaking it to ESPN, though. If Ohtani reported it to the police, it's hard to understand the reason for not being open and honest about to whom he reported it. Especially after a fairly detailed press conference, in which Ohtani condemned Mizuhara in unambiguous terms.

As laid out by several noteworthy media personalities on Monday, Ohtani would be opening himself up to serious civil and legal risk by lying about theft. He has no incentive to defame Mizuhara's character and press charges against his former friend unless that is what happened. Of course, if Ohtani says he is pressing charges but no investigation materializes, that will only inspire more speculation from the rabid national media.

In the end... we simply don't know all the details, nor do we have a window into Ohtani's mind. We can't know the exact truth, at least not yet. We can expect more developments in this story. That is the price of playing under the bright lights in Hollywood.