“Had to get coached up some” - MLB fans suspicious over Shohei Ohtani’s delayed press conference amid gambling fiasco 

LA Dodgers' $700 million superstar Shohei Ohtani has announced that he will address the media on Monday. This is the first time he will face reporters since his interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara was accused of betting and theft.

The IRS has already initiated a criminal investigation against Ippei. The MLB has also started its investigation into the betting scandal. Reports suggest that almost $4.5 million was paid to a bookie from Ohtani's account. Initially, Ohtani's camp claimed that the player did make those payments to clear Ippei's huge gambling debts. Later they changed their statement and said the three-time All-Star didn't have any knowledge of these transactions and accused Mizuhara of theft.

During the Seoul series, when the Ippei Mizuhara scandal came out, the media tried to get Ohtani's comments. However, his locker was guarded by Dodgers Public Relations employees who kept the press away and stated that the Japanese star wouldn't be making any comment.

Since then Ohtani has reportedly been silent, but his sudden announcement about facing the media has made fans suspicious. One fan wrote:

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"Had to get coached up some I’m guessing?"

Ippei Mizuhara says Shohei Ohtani is anti-gambling

Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara recently opened up on the three-time All-Star DH's stance against gambling.

In an interview with ESPN, Mizuhara tried his best to steer Ohtani's name away from the scandal. He wanted to make it crystal clear that the two-way phenom wasn't a gambling person.

"He (Ohtani) sees that people, teammates would be gambling all the time, and he'll be like, 'Why are they doing this? Gambling is not good," Mizuhara told ESPN. "He would make comments like that. People would ask him to go to casinos on road trips, and he would never go. No, he's not into it."

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