2 gambling scandals are now threatening pro sports, and the problems may run deeper

This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, which is CBC Sports' daily email newsletter. Stay up to speed on what's happening in sports by subscribing here.

Yesterday in Los Angeles, Shohei Ohtani issued his first public comments since last week's explosive news that the Dodgers had fired the Japanese superstar's longtime interpreter after some investigative reporters asked why $4.5 million US had been wired from Ohtani's bank account to an illicit bookmaking operation.

The interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, initially explained that he'd asked Ohtani to pay off his gambling debts for him. But Ohtani's lawyers denied that, claiming Ohtani was instead "the victim of a massive theft" by his friend, and Mizuhara changed his story to match. As Major League Baseball announced it was opening an investigation, fans spent the weekend wondering what the truth really was. Did the sport's biggest star actually get robbed by his pal? Or just help him out of a jam? And what about the reverse (and much darker) possibility: was Mizuhara taking a bullet for Ohtani?

According to Ohtani, it was a theft. Sitting next to a new interpreter yesterday in front of a packed room of reporters and reading in Japanese from prepared notes, Ohtani said he has never gambled on sports and did not instruct Mizuhara to wire money from his bank account to a bookie. "Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has been telling lies," Ohtani said through the new interpreter. "I never bet on baseball or any other sports or never have asked somebody to do it on my behalf." He did not take questions.

WATCH | Ohtani claims he was victim of theft by friend, interpreter Mizuhara:

At about the same time Ohtani gave his statement, ESPN NBA reporter Adrian