The Japan Sumo Association has accepted recommendations made by a third-party special oversight panel investigating some JSA members' illegal gambling on professional baseball games. Acting on the recommendations, JSA is expected to expel ozeki Kotomitsuki and stablemaster Otake and to take strong disciplinary measures against stablemaster Tokitsukaze.
JSA will also ban seven makuuchi wrestlers, five juryo wrestlers and two maksushita wrestlers from the July Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. Eleven stablemasters also face suspension — including JSA chairman Musashigawa.
The association has barely managed to hold the Nagoya event after accepting conditions laid down by the oversight panel. JSA must realize that the gambling scandal has blotted the history of this traditional sport. Holding the Nagoya event, however, carries the danger of the panel's investigation ending incomplete.
Kotomitsuki tried to collect ¥5 million in winnings — on Otake's behalf — through an intermediary and allegedly paid ¥3.5 million in hush money to a sumo wrestler's older brother with suspected mob ties. According to sources, Otake said the ¥5 million was money he won from gambling on baseball. It is also reported that Otake, who accumulated debts from illegal gambling, had borrowed ¥20 million to ¥30 million from Kotomitsuki. This episode alone shows how serious the gambling problem in JSA is.
The Nagoya event, scheduled to start July 11, will be different from other tournaments — and not just because 14 wrestlers have been banned. Some large sponsors have pulled out of the event, causing financial damage to JSA. In view of JSA's situation, NHK, the only broadcaster to televise sumo, has expressed concern that it may not be able to broadcast the Nagoya tournament. A decision by NHK not to broadcast would cause devastating damage to JSA.
JSA must feel ashamed of its inability to initiate action against JSA members involved in the gambling scandal. Stablemasters, especially, must realize the great responsibility they now have in restoring discipline in the sumo world.
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