Shohei Ohtani says he's never bet on any sport, pump the brakes on JJ McCarthy? | THE HERD 

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I do not understand how hard it is for some folks to imagine a life of a foreigner here in the United States. Just imagine you move to a foreign country and you open a bank ( with a banker that does not speak English), and are navigating an online banking platform that does not offer English. Would you not have an interpreter next to you to guide you step by step in operating daily banking? In Shohei's case, he most likely had Ippei helping him with a lot of these stuff. It has also been reported that Ippei had helped him do grocery shopping and daily chores while he was in rehab, meaning he most likely had access to his house. If at any point you have access to a computer at Shohei's house, with passwords most likely stored in Google or Apple accounts, I honestly the hurdle of illegally sending money is low. Now, there is a possibility that Shohei is lying, and this is a cover up. But I just don't understand people that just won't believe in any words from Shohei just because "how Ippei was able access his bank account don't add up."

Cowherd is spot on with his take on McCarthy. I've been shaking my head for weeks about all the praise and chatter for McCarthy.

Once again, an excellent, fair take on Ohtani by Colin

Colin, you're not naive. You are spot-on. Ohtani's entire experience in the US has been filtered through his interpreter. What people say to him, what he says to others, what he understand is happening around him, what the media says, what EVERY document says, all mediated through Mizuhara. It's NOT a stretch to see how Ohtani would be oblivious to what a lying Mizuhara was doing. Any American who doubts this should go to Japan and try to survive even the most basic transaction at a store.

“Sit behind Sam Darnold at Minnesota” I love Colin😂😂😂

I currently live in Japan, and have for the past 3 1/2 years. My wife is Japanese. I’ve studied Japanese for over 30 years, have worked as an interpreter and speak it fluently. If I had to give a press conference in Japan, in Japanese, on a serious topic like this, I would print it out and read it. First, I’d want to use the exact right words. Secondly, in Japan, it’s very normal for people such as politicians to read statements vs ad-libbing. So, the fact that Shohei read his original statement does not seem odd to me at all. In fact, I would have been very surprised if he had done it any other way.

If J.J. McCartney is pick number 2 by the Commanders The GM will need protection from the fans.

Colin 2021: Take Trey Lance I know stuff!

He’s ‘too big to fail.’ Ohtani’s words this week are what we wanted to hear. The actual truth of whether or not he bet on MLB or other sports is not wanted.

Lance Armstrong Mark McQuire Ryan Braun Vaughn Miller Barry Bonds All said they were innocent, too. Colin making sure MLB still lets their players, etc., still be part of his show. 😂😂😂

Ippei first met Shohei while interpreting for the Fighters in 2013 when he was 19 years old, and they were like brother's Ippei even said he spent more time with Shohei then his own wife because the schedule and travel. Shohei gave Ippei alot of trust and access to all his private and personal informatuon, including his finances. I just saw an interview on Jeffrey J. Hall show he said, Is it hard to believe that Ippei Mizuhara had access to Shohei Ohtani's bank account? No. It's quite plausible and normal, says Katsunori Kojima, a former interpreter for the Mets/Giants. He handled financial transactions himself for players because of the trust and the schedule they have.

Colin admitting to falling for an IRS email scam, really explains some of his sports takes…

Awesome, Colin! Finally a decent take on this situation.

This is the best take Ive heard so far.... while all the other sport talk, and garage podcasts are trying to lynch the guy.

I can imagine that it's difficult for most Americans who do not know Ohtani's history and upbringing in Japan, including how he was even at the Angels, to believe fully what Ohtani explained is believable and truth. But as a Japanese who has followed him in Japan and as he moved to MLB, I can attest to that what he said is 100% believable. Ohtani since he was a young boy was very focused with specific goals set and worked diligently on the path to achieving them. His parents and especially his mother was instrumental in providing the support he needed so that he can focus 100% on his tasks, baseball. There have been documentaries on TV on Ohtani as well as his appearances as a guest on TV shows in Japan in which Ohtani explained that his mother took 100% control of his money (all income and expenses including the dealings with his accountant). She gave Ohtani monthly allowance of a little sum of money. Ohtani used team dormitory and team meals 100% to focus on baseball. This is how he lived in Japan as a NPB player. Ohtani is known to be frugal and does not spend money like normal pro athletes do. He is not interested in fashion, clothing, shoes, and cars, and not interested in tangible material stuff. Again, this is very well known fact about him in Japan. Ippei Mizuhara was smart in that he put himself in the position with Ohtani to take care of all of his personal duties out side of baseball so that Ohtani can just focus on baseball as he did in Japan. The identical set up that he had with his mother. Ippei was a perfect man for it and Ohtani trusted him 100%. So in this context, Ippei had this role for Ohtani since he moved to the USA to become a MLB player. Ippei is not just a translator for Ohtani. Ippei was essentially Ohtani's personal caretaker, personal assistant, consultant, butler, driver, and shopper and managed all aspects of Ohtani’s life outside of baseball, tasked to set him up in the USA. He therefore had helped him open his bank accounts, managed his finances and his accountants, had access to Ohtani's bank accounts and was helping him setting up all the payables, bills for his expenses etc etc. Don't forget, and sadly, Ohtani has no experience managing his own money in the past, he is also oblivious to all the living expenses especially in the USA. Ippei was the perfect friend and paid worker for him to do these tasks. In this set up, Ippei can easily transfer Ohtani's money, even 4.5 million without Ohtani knowing (again, Ohtani has been very naive, trusting and indifferent about money matters, except that he knows that he has been getting 50 to 75 million per year on endorsements and baseball contracts even in the past years, so 4.5 million divided into nine separate transfer may not be so significant in this light and could not be noticeable if he was trusting Ippei to manage) Personal income taxes are lower in the USA than in Japan so who knows, Ohtani would not miss 4.5 million based on his income. Agent is there to deal with the baseball contracts and he is not Japanese so he would not have known his personal contents. This is why Ippei is said to have been paid upwards of $400,000 per year to work for Ohtani, where as a regular personal translator working 9 to 5 is paid $150,000ish for a pro-athlete. Don't forget that Ippei was in all communications between Ohtani and his team members, including the team management, spokesperson, and lawyers, essentially every non-Japanese speaker on his side, which is everyone except Yamamoto and Ippei. Ippei was in a perfect position to manipulate all information and communications. So you guys take a rest on speculating and jumping to conclusion about Ohtani in this situation. Eventually the investigation will shed a better light on what I am talking about.

If Shohei was Aaron Rodgers, his perspective would have been entirely different.

Thank you colin.　Ohtani cannot say anything while a criminal case is being investigated. Assistant stolen money from their rich boss is more common than you think. And Ippei is like that to shohei, he's not only interpreter. He handling his business everyday.😂 Those who know his upbringing and personality know that he is an honest person. Ohtani is completely innocent👍

Even Collin is on the defend Otani story line. Looks like this will be a unified espn to defend their golden boy.

Fair point Colin, but HOW did the friends get ability to wire money? Shohei had to know

He keeps saying “celebrities don’t check their bank balance”. I think that is right. However, bank wires of any significant size require 2FA. The amount he is sending he would have to confirm it by entering the code texted to him. I hope he is innocent, but folks like Colin are trying to wave it away with generalities that aren’t accurate.

I believe Ohtani didn’t gamble, especially on baseball. Otherwise he could have easily made 4.5M just by betting on himself to win MVP.

He gambled on games he could influence with booky in Japan. You can’t be that naive when it’s 4mill. He’s your interpreter not your accountant

Colin “I almost fell for a tax scam” Cowherd

Why is the interpreter not arrest and not hear a word from them? Where is the 1st pr person?

Hey Collin! I got a mountain to sell you... you disappoint me

Colin sweeping it up because he loves all that gambling money for the volume, he's not naïve.

Comparing scam calls to Shoehei being absolutely guilty on betting is the biggest reach Colin has ever made

How can anyone be ignorant of or not notice when millions of dollars exits your bank account?

The fact that JJ McCarthy is getting this much hype just shows that even NFL coaches, scouts, etc. can be delusional. McCarthy is not a good prospect at all whatsoever but somehow these people have convinced themselves that he is. It's insane.

Love the take Colin on the QBs from Mid Majors! so true

JJs mindset and toughness is what stands out to me. He wants to win and he’s gonna do what it takes mentally to succeed. You can have all the talent in the world but if you don’t have that fire it’s not gonna matter much.

Mizuhara deduces that he stole money from Otani and used Otani's cell phone to send money to a bookmaker. I think Ippei was probably doing his normal expenses from that Otani's weren't gambling. In that case, he can send money using Otani's mobile phone, and he can easily do two-step approval. And if he erase his remittance history, Otani won't know. I don't think Otani doubted Mizuhara because he trusted Mizuhara even though Otani didn't realize it. After getting married, Mizuhara was no longer able to send money when he left his finances to Otani's wife, and various inconveniences occurred, which is why I think the theft was discovered.

The Dodgers are being very careful here because they know Shohei can opt out of his contract.

I can't get enough of Colin, seriously!

Thank you Colin...finally, someone not trying to earn ratings by making wild, unsubstantiated speculations

It’s the fact that he changed his story that makes it not believable

I was on this months ago, everything about JJ McCarthy screams Zach Wilson

Cowherd getting told what to say

If Ohtani had a gambling addiction/issue it would have surfaced years ago.. Ultra rich people entrust people to do their accounting, taxes, scheduling, etc. People are already casting a guilty verdict before all the facts come out. Rich people get ripped off by their trusted assistants more often than we know.

This is the best take out there among the talking heads.

I completely agree with Colin here. Having a players draft stock swing so significantly between now and January is concerning. He’s a late first round talent at best

I work at a bank. 17 ys. It is IMPOSSIBLE to wire out money if youre not a signer or owner of the account. The only way this makes sense is if the interpreter was on his accounts.

After what Japanese baseball players go through to get to become pros, no way he would gamble.

colin repeats himself too much…

anybody who takes the parallels in the pre draft hype and rise between jj & zach wilson will end up regretting it. they are no where near the same player

He is forgetting that the Commanders will have revamped the online, which will improve the run game, they picked up Zack Ertz and will probably draft another Tight End, etc.

Colin Owes-Back-Taxes Cowherd

It's certainly possible, so is his participation in illegal gambling.

the e-transfers happened in Sept-Oct 2023. What was Shohei doing? Getting surgery and on pain meds. Shohei relied on Ippei while Shohei was on pain meds. Easy to get hoodwinked. Tax Accountants won't realize missing funds until tax season due in April 2024.

I'm hoping the Vikes pick JJ McCarthy BIG TIME. Go Pack.

"Caleb Williams had 92 TD with bad offensive lines at USC" Whoa whoa whoa. Caleb Williams also had one of the greatest set of offensive weapons around him and a coach that only knows offense, but knows offense well. Every QB under Riley has done well, and Caleb got WAY WORSE overtime despite having a better team, not better. By the end of his career he wasn't even a top 3 QB in the NCAA. BTW off talent, USC is ranked 11th best offensive line in the country by CFB Saturdays and 12th by Athlon Sports

Love his obsession with trashing JJ but but literally just tried selling USC’s very own next Andrew luck Sam Darnold as the savior for the Vikings.

I'm an accountant and even I don't pay too much attention to my personal bank accountant. Everything is on auto pay. I think it's very believable this money was being taken without him noticing.

Those people you named invested or gave their money and lost. Ohtani didn’t, his friend stole 500k at a time. If you have problem you hit the 4 million once. Why not take 50m. Since he have access.

Shohei is only interested in playing baseball better than anyone but not in money. When he was in Japan, his parents managed his money, and he didn't know how much he had in his bank account. In the U.S., Ippei was taking care of Shohei like a baby. Ohtani is not interested in money, and that's why he gave up his high income in Japan and went to the States to play baseball at a higher level. Besides, his English is not good enough to understand anything complicated, although he can handle simple daily conversations.

add to the list: Freddie Freeman got ripped off by a crooked agent

Him and Rui should become friends lol easy way to get pass these interpreters

LOL the whole story doesnt pass the smell test. Not a cynic, you are not naive, you get paid to BELIEVE your Patrons.

What league did they play in?

Thank you!! It is so refreshing to hear someone use sound logic and good reason when talking about J.J. McCarthy 🙏

"We are all being sinisters". Ahahah, all time great flub!

I’m going to ask something no one is asking: why was he so naive to confuse interpreter with accountant? Numbers are still numbers. If 4 mil disappeared you’d notice.

JJ, thin. Daniels a playmaker. JJ wins the big game. Daniels puts up numbers vs scrubs. Cowherd has been down on JJ since the season ended. He’s transparent. And it’s fine. But JJ will be a successful qb. The entire league believes it, and that’s why he will go in the top 10. Believe that. Or you can take Cowherd’s opinion.

JJ McCarthy at 2 in the draft?! This is absolutely ridiculous if anyone thinks Washington is going to take him

Colin defending Ohtani like crazy

within 2 minutes - Actual Context - explaining how these things happen to wealthy artists, musicians and athletes. more people covering this story are pretending these things never happen, and go straight to speculation

Only Colin will have on USC WRs all week and hype them up then the next show say how Caleb Williams only had 1 good WR in his time in college

If you take a questionable QB in the top half of the first round, you better be absolutely sure he's going to produce because you are passing up all pro players in every other position

Smart take

Colin, you and I are in agreement here on J.J. I don't see 1st Rounder in his numbers or in his ability to come from behind. He has upside, but has done nothing to show on the field that he can win in less than ideal situations. The game he lost is when his Defense fell apart and so did he. He fits in very few places in this current NFL. 10 years ago? He would be just fine. Based on how he played, his best spot would be Cleveland or Minnesota.

Dude, these guys you named that got ripped off made bad investments. It happens. It's different than 4.5 million going missing from an account and used for gambling by the interpreter. Wait until the investigation is done. It could go either way.

Wonder if these pundits ever wired money. There are numerous checks to insure identity is confirmed.

Love how Colin is forgiving when it’s an LA based team. What a homer 😂

Horrible take imo! He is comparing apples and oranges here. Wire transfer needs your permission, so there is no way Shohei didn't know money was going out of his account.

Pete rose better get in the hall of fame when this is all done

ESPN believed the story of the man with the mendaciousness for a gamble dependency Even if the story of the man changed, they believed this criminal I can't permit ESPN

Zach Wilson is definitely NOT 6’3

McCarthy is the Daniel Jones of the 2024 draft

Yes, Zach Wilson won a championship before the draft, the exact comp (NOT)

What's Pete Rose saying about Shohei

Is it just me or does this JJ McCarthy draft stock remind me of Zach Wilson last minute rise….or is this teams playing the shell game with their true intentions.

but he helped his buddy to paid off betting debt. lol

JJ MCCartney isn’t a top 15 pick but if he’s there around 3rd round and I’m ATL I think I would draft him let him learn from Kirk. If he has to play this year you know he can manage a game with running the ball and take a couple of shots to Drake London or Pitts just like he did at Michigan.

The ohtani mental gymnastics was actually very impressive. Imagine if Aaron Rodgers was even near something like this, Colin would do a week straight on that alone

So the highest paid athlete has his interpreter over his money. Not brother not agent or lawyer but an interpreter. Is the interpreter arrested ???!

Literally the only comp between Zach and JJ is because they are wide faced young white kids with spiky hair, the problem everyone had with Zach was he perpetually playing Superman and that didn’t translate to the terrible jets team he played for. The problem everyone has with JJ is he didn’t do enough because he didn’t have to and also because Michigan doesn’t recruit wideouts. Honestly I feel like Caleb is a better comp for Zach coming out of college, both spent to much time waiting for big plays instead of just taking what the defense gave them which is the actual reason that Caleb got sacked so much because he was dancing for 15 seconds waiting for go routes to get open which will not translate to the NFL and hopefully they can coach him out of it

Damn Colin struggling with ‘Interpreter’

toTALLY agree with COLIN......

Wait, don't we have an international banking system? LOL. Shohei does not need an interpreter to access his money. He doesn't need an interpreter to access his money in Japan, where he lives. The interpreter is the fall guy. Stop.

As you were regarding OU QBs: Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, soon to be Caleb Williams. I'll pause here. Cheers, mate. Boomer!...💯

Thank God his name isn't Jerome, or else his career would be on the line.

This is the answer Power of Attorney(POA)　or check writing privileges Ohtani is completely innocent👍 DANIEL KIM said When I worked as an interpreter, I had to assist the players on just about every aspect of their daily lives. These include: opening bank accounts, taking them to DMV to get licenses, and setting up utilities. I also carried their check books on the road for clubhouse dues.

Colin is access journalism.

Jj should go round 5th or 6th

Caleb Williams play no defense in the PAC 12 lol played a bad notre dame team and got embarassed what am I missing here

Its only illegal cuz its California 😂 alot of other states this wouldnt be a problem whether it was Ohtani gambling or not. Like who cares its not a story

He basically spoke but didn't say anything. Just all PR. CYA.

He is losing his money

Been saying McCarthy hype is crazy. Definitely not rooting against him but wtf idk where all this hype came from.