Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter has found himself caught in the middle of a $17 million fraud whirlpool. Online debate has become like a raging fire after many people considered Ippei Mizuhara to be the “fall guy” and nothing more. With the influence of Ohtani, many believe he is being paid to keep his mouth shut. In a case that is this murky, many don’t know who or what to believe; a section of fans believes Ohtani is involved whereas another doesn’t.

After getting caught for swiping Shohei Ohtani for $17 million, Ippei Mizuhara has been found guilty. As reported by the Bleacher Report’s X handle, Ippei Mizuhara has been given 57 months in prison. Mizuhara has admitted that has been responsible for placing around 19,000 bets. However, the prosecution appealed the claim that he is addicted to gambling.

He is said to have purchased many unwanted items for a very large sum of money. It is being reported that he purchased around 1,000 baseball cards and other unasked items for a whopping $325,000. But a small fraction of the fans still believe that Shohei Ohtani is the main culprit and that this ruling by the court is not right. While others believe that Mizuhara should be penalized more for causing huge damage to the slugger.

Fall guy or a fraudster? The Shohei Ohtani-Ippei Mizuhara debate rages on

With the evidence stacked against Ippei Mizuhara, it would be easy to believe that his client is innocent. But that’s not the case for everyone. After Ippei Mizuhara was accused of stealing money from Shohei Ohtani, most thought “Why would he steal money from a very close friend of his?” and left it there.

But many of the fans started to question the integrity of Shohei Ohtani and questions were asked by the fans that wondered behind his involvement in this drama.

We can see that many people have stopped believing in superstars being innocent. They seem to think that if any person related to a superstar goes to jail, it is the doing of the superstar. But then there is all evidence that has come forward during this case pointing otherwise.

The evidence, the recording, and many more things have proven to the court that Shohei Ohtani is innocent. But many don’t want to believe it. Calling a guy who has been proven guilty a “fall guy” just because he is related to the player, might be a result of them not wanting to accept the truth.

One fan was clearly unhappy with the decision given by the court. It seems that fans wanted the court to give harsher penalties considering the amount of money that went missing is $17 million. With this price-demand ratio the prison term functions as an outstanding discount offer. White-collar crime benefits would definitely give Mizuhara major points in its loyalty program. Baseball fans question whether Mizuhara received an appropriate sentence that matches his crime or if he got the equivalent of a sports punishment.

Public sentiment portrays Mizuhara as a noble sufferer who received 57 months of prison time after stealing $17 million. This theory takes a strong stance to portray Mizuhara as a voluntary loss to cover up his compulsive spending on baseball cards and his addiction to gambling. The court of public opinion will frequently view friendship more glamorously than it does fraud.

In a world where baseball players are icons, betraying them is comparable to high treason. For many, this was like robbing Santa Claus. You will end up on the naughty list when caught for your mistakes. But as one fan iterated the fall guy story, they also asked how much might Mizuhara be earning from Ohtani behind-the-scenes for going to jail for him.

The controversy concerning Ippei Mizuhara’s punishment for his offense and Shohei Ohtani’s alleged innocence will persist in baseball. People within the fan base prefer following stories about betrayal and redemption, although these stories tend to mix actual information with mere speculations. Even though the judicial system rendered its verdict, the public opinion court remains bound to its own arbitrary set of rules which seldom recognize fair play.