Ippei Mizuhara’s fall from grace hasn’t been anything less than a Shakespearean tragedy. Until a few months ago, he was just as loved as Shohei Ohtani. Fans couldn’t imagine the two-way phenom going anywhere without the familiar face of his interpreter-cum-friend. However, all of that came crashing down after Mizuhara’s gambling scandal. With his image at an all-time low, Mizuhara has just been labeled “a piece of S**t” by famous sports analyst and former football player Pat McAfee.

McAfee recently covered the entire Shohei Ohtani ‘theft’ scandal on The Pat McAfee Show. Joined in by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, McAfee looked visibly angry at how it had turned out. What initially started as two $500,000 payments to a bookmaker has now transformed into an alleged $16 million theft. That has completely changed the perception around this case. 

“This guy right here (points to Mizuhara’s picture) is a piece of s**t,” McAfee said. “This is one of the biggest pieces of s**t in the history of sports. This guy took advantage of the fact that he was the ears and the mouth of the biggest baseball star on Earth to the tune of $16 million with another $24 million owned!” McAfee continued. 

“…Sucks as a translator, he sucks as a translator and he sucks as a person…This is a piece of s**t that robbed Shohei Ohtani of millions of dollars,” McAfee finished. While Passan did inform him that everything here was ‘alleged’, McAfee’s passion indicated that, as a former sportsperson, he saw what happened as a huge “betrayal” of trust.

Interestingly, despite the Federal Investigation pinning Ohtani as a victim, some fans have still questioned the claim. McAfee answered those queries with a simple fact – why would the investigators knowingly leave Ohtani off the hook?

Pat McAfee wonders why some fans are still questioning Shohei Ohtani 

Ever since the gambling issue came to light, a section of the fanbase has been framing Ohtani as a possible culprit. Some have even called Ippei Mizuhara the fall guy. However, Ohtani has categorically denied having any knowledge of Mizuhara’s gambling addiction. Pat McAfee too noted that and shared that the investigators would “love” to expose a gambling scandal during current times.

“The Feds would love to expose a gambling situation happening in the MLB by their biggest star, especially as Sports gambling is growing at the rate in which it’s growing,” McAfee said. As a result, it isn’t right to question their investigation. That is something that most fans have agreed with. Even Shohei Ohtani has expressed his gratitude to the investigators.

So now things seem to be moving smoothly for the 2x MVP but Mizuhara’s troubles have just begun. For a man who was once beloved by the fandom, this “heel turn” looks a little tragic.