Once we've figured all this out, then can we start looking at illegal steroid use?
I'll bet there's some to be found.
But first things first ... back to the match rigging investigation!
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Yokohammer wrote:Once we've figured all this out, then can we start looking at illegal steroid use?
I'll bet there's some to be found.
But first things first ... back to the match rigging investigation!
dimwit wrote:Well there is a lot of stuff on 2-channel that looks to be about a week old referring to it, but nothing in any real news source.
The Japan Sumo Association has in effect ousted 23 sumo wrestlers and elders over their alleged involvement in match-fixing, and with more punishments in the cards, the grand sumo tournament scheduled for May will likely be cancelled. The JSA on Friday reprimanded 21 wrestlers and two elders a special investigation panel concluded had been involved in rigging the outcome of sumo bouts. Nineteen of the wrestlers, including six top-tier makuuchi wrestlers, were advised to retire, and elder Tanigawa was advised to quit. Their punishments essentially amount to expulsion from the sumo world. Three people who admitted their involvement in match-fixing--elder Takenawa, and wrestlers Chiyohakuho and Enatsukasa--received the lighter punishment of a two-year-suspension. Takenawa has expressed his intention to resign. However, it is believed that all 23 will be forced to leave sumo circles.
Also punished were 17 elders--some of them stablemasters--who held positions supervising the 23. Among them, stablemasters Kitanoumi, Kokonoe and Michinoku were advised to resign from their posts as JSA directors. According to sources, the JSA is holding off on deciding whether to reprimand about 10 wrestlers who are still under investigation. The unresolved nature of the situation means it is highly likely the JSA will cancel the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, which was scheduled to start May 8. At a press conference held Friday, JSA Chairman Hanaregoma said: "We had to punish many people, all of whom are our colleagues. It was a very tough decision to make."
The 19 expelled wrestlers include six makuuchi wrestlers--Tokusegawa, Hakuba, Kasugao, Koryu, Mokonami and Kotokasuga--as well as eight juryo wrestlers, four makushita wrestlers and one sandanme wrestler. The juryo wrestlers include Kiyoseumi, who allegedly sent and received text messages implying his involvement in match-fixing. He has denied being involved in rigging bouts. The special investigation panel said it exonerated makuuchi wrestler Shotenro, judging he was not involved in match-fixing. Shotenro's name had appeared in text messages exchanged between Enatsukasa and Chiyohakuho. "During interviews [conducted for the investigation], nothing was said to show he was involved," the panel said.
Elders Takenawa and Tanigawa were known as Kasuganishiki and Kaiho, respectively, when they were wrestlers. Of the admonished stablemasters, Kokonoe is former yokozuna Chiyonofuji and Michinoku is former ozeki Kirishima. Kitanoumi held the rank of yokozuna, and did not change his name after retirement.
Sumo elders and wrestlers who were punished by the Japan Sumo Association for alleged involvement in bout-fixing have expressed anger, saying the association handed down the punishment without hard evidence that they were guilty. Twenty-three members of the sumo world were each given an envelope containing a piece of paper on which was written the reason for their punishment. The paper given to sumo elder Tanigawa, formerly komusubi Kaiho, 37, contained this message: "You intentionally had sumo bouts lacking fighting spirit with Kasuganishiki on the 13th day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament in 2010 and the seventh day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in 2010." Papers given to other wrestlers made similar accusations. One wrestler angrily showed the paper to reporters and said, "[The reason for the punishment] was only something of this [trivial] level."
"I wrestled hard for 14 years," Tanigawa said. "But [the JSA] gave me a punishment based on an inaccurate investigation. That's nonsense. I will take legal action," he said. Popular wrestler Yamamotoyama brought his anger out in the open and said, "The JSA made up its mind from the start that I cheated without listening to me carefully." A special investigation panel comprising lawyers and other experts that is in charge of a full-scale investigation into match-fixing failed to uncover much hard evidence from the beginning. Other than text messages from some wrestlers' mobile phones, the panel had to gather testimony from wrestlers such as sumo elder Takenawa, formerly Kasuganishiki, 35, and juryo wrestler Chiyohakuho, 27, who both admitted being part of match-fixing.
Many of the wrestlers said they were not given satisfactory explanations as to why the JSA decided they had done wrong. "If the case were to be brought into court, we're not sure we could win it," a member of the panel said. Lower-tier division wrestler Enatsukasa, 31, who allegedly acted as a go-between in the schemes, is said to have cooperated with the panel's investigation. "I was given a two-year suspension from sumo tournaments, but I've decided to retire as I caused a lot of problems for everyone," Enatsukasa said. He then distributed a paper to reporters, which said, "I was not able to resist sekitori [wrestlers in the juryo and makuuchi divisions] and consented to act as a go-between for sumo bouts that were devoid of fighting spirit."
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