“How did Ippei have access to these bank accounts?” - MLB insider reckons multiple unanswered questions remain to Shohei Ohtani gambling controversy

Shohei Ohtani's presser yesterday cleared the air about the gambling controversy, but it likely didn't make it go away. For starters, there is still a federal investigation going on, so Ohtani couldn't comment on everything. The investigation also hasn't yielded anything yet, and it will presumably be made public when it does.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal said:

"It was interesting to hear him be so up front... There was never going to be a question and answer session, not when there's a federal investigation going on and an MLB investigation going on... I thought initially we would get very little, and we got a lot more than that."

A persistent question, now that Ohtani has confirmed that Ippei Muzihara stole from him to fund his illegal gambling, is over how Muzihara even got access to the account in the first place and why.

Rosenthal continued:

"We did not get every answer, and there are still a lot of questions that I and a lot of other people would like to see answered, namely, 'How did Ippei have access to these bank accounts? How was he making these payments without Shohei knowing about them?' These are all reasonable questions that in due time, I am hoping we get answers for."

Now, the story is clear, but it's anything from resolved. The investigations are still ongoing and there's still some explanation left to be had, but it doesn't currently appear as if the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the one gambling as many thought.

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Shohei Ohtani denies gambling rumors

In the first public speaking appearance for Shohei Ohtani since the gambling scandal broke, he denied any and all knowledge of the betting and denied that he had been the one gambling.

Shohei Ohtani denied the allegations

Via ESPN, Ohtani said he has never bet on any sports and has never asked anyone to do so on his behalf. He added:

"[Mizuhara] has been stealing money from us and has told lies... On a personal note, I'm very sad and shocked that someone who I've trusted has done this."

Ohtani said all this thanks to his new interpreter, Will Ireton. He is the Dodgers manager of performance operations, and since Muzihara had been fired, there was a need for a new translator.