ESPN six-episode podcast to examine Shohei Ohtani-Ippei Mizuhara gambling scandal

ESPN’s 30 for 30 volition motorboat the archetypal 2 of six podcast episodes July 28 examining the gambling ungraded that resulted successful Shohei Ohtani‘s interpreter Ippei Mizuhara going to situation for stealing astir $17 cardinal from the shot superstar and gambling it away.

The podcast, titled “The Betrayal of Shohei Ohtani” is told by Tisha Thompson, the ESPN investigative newsman who broke the communicative successful March 2024.

Ohtani, who signed a grounds 10-year, $700-million declaration with the Dodgers successful December 2023 aft playing six years with the Angels, seemingly trusted Mizuhara implicitly. He said helium was unaware that the interpreter regularly ransacked his slope relationship for much than 2 years.

The podcast volition recount Mizuhara’s beingness earlier helium began moving for Ohtani successful 2013 erstwhile some were with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters successful Japan. When Ohtani moved to the United States to play for the Angels successful 2018, Mizuhara came with him.

Thompson interviews puerility friends and colleagues of Mizuhara, but the interrogation that volition make the top involvement is simply a 90-minute telephone telephone she had with him 16 hours earlier she published the story. Thompson got support from Mizuhara to portion the telephone and it remains the lone interrogation helium has given.

Mizuhara told her that Ohtani had helped him wage disconnected his gambling debts, a communicative helium recanted a time later. The Dodgers fired him the aforesaid time they opened the 2024 play with a crippled against the San Diego Padres successful Seoul, South Korea.

IRS peculiar cause Chris Seymour gave Thompson the archetypal interrogation of his career, and what helium and prosecutors accidental astir Mizuhara’s motive goes beyond the communicative that helium had a gambling addiction.

Another interrogation by Thompson is with bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, who explains connected portion that his narration with Mizuhara began during a edifice poker crippled with Angels players. Bowyer pleaded blameworthy past twelvemonth to moving an amerciable gambling business, wealth laundering and filing a mendacious taxation return. He was sentenced to 12 months and 1 time successful situation and ordered to wage $1.6 cardinal successful restitution to the IRS.

Episodes 1 and 2 — “The Letter O” and “The Interview” — volition debut July 28, followed by episodes dropping each Tuesday and Thursday done August 11.