"Rude" Football Team Apologizes

[Mulboyne]

[YT]YI1MjQmTD2U[/YT]
The team apologizes to supporters

Reuters: Kawasaki's gum chewers told to keep prize money
Kawasaki Frontale have been told to keep the $5.5 million prize money the Japanese club offered to return after its players were given a public dressing down for unsporting behaviour following their J-League Cup final defeat. Japan Football Association (JFA) president Saburo Kawabuchi was among those who slammed Kawasaki for being "bad losers" after their 2-0 defeat by FC Tokyo last week. Some Frontale players chewed gum as they went up the steps to receive their losers medals with several quickly taking them off on the way down after refusing to shake hands with dignitaries. The team suspended Defender Yusuke Mori for at least one game for chewing gum, while Kawasaki president Shimpei Takeda took a 10 percent pay cut for three months. However, J-League chairman Kenji Onitake refused to conduct a witch hunt and insisted there would be no formal punishment handed to the team other than a severe reprimand. Onitake said the J-League would not accept Kawasaki's offer to return their prize money but ordered them to use it to promote soccer in the community and better educating their players. "It was a significant gesture from Frontale," he told Wednesday's Japanese media. "What is important is that it does not happen again." Frontale have been asked to submit a formal report to the J-League on how the money is used.

[Netherlander]

Japanese sure love apologies, no matter how insincere. Who cares if some old fart was insulted because somebody younger chose to ignore him. I hate the so called "dignitaries" at football matches. They are so full of themselves. (not only in Japan)

[Gilligan]

You have got to be shitting me!!!!!

This is just another example of someone with a "position of power" in this country taking himself WAY too seriously.

Personally I think whoever it was who got offended by this ought to resign immediately.

[Mulboyne]

Mainichi: Pro athletes and gum: Biting off more of a cultural problem than they can chew

After chewing gum during a ceremony following this month's J.League Nabisco Cup final, a player on the losing side, Kawasaki Frontale, was slapped with a suspension from his club. But a Yomiuri Giants baseball team member who chewed gum on the podium after a recent game avoided disciplinary action, suggesting attitudes toward gum-chewing are mixed. This raises the question: Should gum-chewing be eschewed?

In the Nabisco Cup final between Kawasaki and FC Tokyo, Kawasaki was gunning for its first title, and it's not surprising that the team members were upset when they lost. "Our minds went blank," Kawasaki captain Hiroki Ito recalls. At a ceremony after the game, several players refused to shake hands with VIPs. They remained crouched down or leaned against a wall -- behavior that incurred the wrath of J.League officials.

Under its guidelines for punishment, the Japan Football Association states that "unsportsmanlike behavior is subject to a warning." In the wake of criticism over the players' behavior, Kawasaki Frontale announced that it would return its 50 million yen runner-up prize, but J.League officials turned down the suggestion, saying the money should be used to contribute to local activities. However, the team went ahead and slapped player Yusuke Mori, who had chewed gum in a sulky mood during the award ceremony, with a suspension. Prior to the team's next game, he joined other team members in tears and apologized to supporters.

Commenting on the events, J.League Chairman Kenji Onitake said, "It comes as a shock to lose, but players have to get over that and stand on the podium." He added, "The J.League may have failed to provide proper instructions to players."

It is not the first time gum has got a player into a sticky situation. In the soccer World Cup in France in 1998, Japan national team member Shoji Jo was criticized for chewing gum while playing.

But in Japanese professional baseball it is not always the same story. When Shinnosuke Abe of the Yomiuri Giants appeared in an interview on television after hitting a game-winning home run on Nov. 5, he was seen chewing gum. The player was criticized on the Internet, and he apologized in a television program. But so far the Giants have not made an issue of his actions.

Some have pointed out benefits of chewing gum. Says one researcher of a confectionery company: "It increases your concentration and helps you relax. There is data showing that brain waves are in a more relaxed state after chewing gum. It's believed that when sports players chew gum they're neutralizing their mental condition."

This information is apparently being accepted by players, who are increasingly seen chewing gum. But there are still many people who see gum-chewing as a sign that the players lack commitment. The Japanese professional baseball team Softbank this season banned players from chewing gum during games.

In the major leagues, players sometimes chew gum in post-game interviews, but it is not considered a problem. Perhaps it comes down to cultural differences.

Hidenori Tomozoe, a professor in the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Waseda University who specializes in sports ethics says that players in Japan should be careful of their actions, but added that attitudes could change.

"Professional athletes are considered to be public figures, and there are people who feel uncomfortable when seeing them chewing gum. They should show restraint during award ceremonies and interviews. However, manners can change, and there's no telling what things will be like in the future," he said.

It appears that the approach to the issue is something to chew on.