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Tim Donaghy, the NBA referee who was sent to federal prison (twice, after violating his release terms) over betting on games that he officiated, says he believes Shohei Ohtani knew about his translator Ippei Mizuhara’s gambling problems.
“I think Major League Baseball was smart to sweep this under the rug as quickly as possible,” Tim Donaghy said on the Hot Mic with Hutton and Withrow podcast.
“You look at that guy and what he’s done for baseball globally and the fans that he’s attracted around the world, the last thing they want is for him to be somebody that was involved in betting on his own games and maybe doing things that he wasn’t supposed to do.
“So I think that they were very smart to get that under the rug as quickly as possible and say that he had nothing to do with it and basically have this other guy take the fall for everything.”
@outkick Tim Donaghy: Major League Baseball was smart to sweep this under the rug as quickly as possible ♬ original sound – OutKick Sports
Donaghy, in response to being asked if he thought Shohei Ohtani also bet on baseball, he replied, “Absolutely. When you look at the amount of bets that he was placing, obviously he had some type of addiction, so it’s not like he could just turn it off when it comes time to have a baseball season.”
“Yeah, there’s no doubt in my mind that he not only bet on baseball, he bet on Ohtani’s games and I think Ohtani was right there with him, knowing what he was doing.”
Tim Donaghy isn’t the only gambling reprobate to weigh in on Shohei Ohtani’s possible involvement.
Banned former MLB player and manager Pete Rose said about the situation, “Back in the 70s and 80s, I wish I had an interpreter. I’d be scot-free.”
Despite federal authorities revealing that Shohei Ohtani’s translator Ippei Mizuhara stole more than $16 million from the baseball star, Ohtani was universally cleared of any wrongdoing by both Major League Baseball as well as the U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case.