First there was the scandal in the hot dog eating world. Now, scandal rocks the Sumo world. Is nothing sacred? Sumo star Ozeki Kotomitsuki, 34, has been implicated in a gambling scandal and has been dismissed by the Japan Sumo Association.
Kotomitsuki allegedly bet on baseball as well as the Tokitsukaze stable in Tokyo.
This makes him the Pete Rose of Sumo sport . . . well two Pete Roses of the Sumo sport.
Source: CNN
Yeah, I know thats why I stay away from them all…..But Sumo does give new meaning to pressing the flesh.
AY,
One cannot study every martial art, but especially the one that would require I gain at least 150 pounds to practice.
Buddha,
I think Sumo Wrestling is a very weighted issue that unless you know the subject matter you should not try and press it…..
If you say so, D. Never been a sumo fan myself. I’m more of an aikido kind of guy.
Dude, ozeki is his rank in sumo, not his first name. Sumo wrestlers only use one name. Sumo has been draped in scandal for several years now. For example, one of the top wrestlers — a yokozuna rank — had to retire in the spring after beating up someone outside a nightclub. A lot of this has to do with the Japanese mob.
Well frankdawg,
Its the multiplicities….of the career sumo wrestler. I read some where that they have a nonexistent sex life. I don’t know why, I recall that but hey, I am a purveyor of useless information…
from Anon: “They wrestle, gamble and have women donning there feet.”
Gosh I hope not! I can’t imagine donning feet 🙂
AY,
Could be. Gambling is an insidious problem for some. But it’s one of those things like “sex addiction”. Many don’t believe it’s a real problem until they meet someone who literally can’t stop and will endanger themselves and/or others to comply with their compulsion. Compulsion is a very real mental problem with very real consequences no matter what the object of the compulsion may be. I know someone with a gambling addiction and it’s not pretty.
As far as banning from a sport?
Okay, I’ll pretend for a minute that I don’t think “athletic heroes” are a ridiculous idea to begin with. As long as Rose never bet against his team(s) (his assertion but he offers no proof), which would put him in a position to throw a game, I don’t have an issue with his Hall of Fame induction. He was a staggeringly good player and if your on-field performance is the criteria for induction then he should clearly be in the Hall of Fame.
If Oze didn’t bet against the Tokitsukaze stable, I don’t think his ban should be permanent either. But as with Rose, the proof issue in re malfeasance outside the arena remains. Being a very honor bound society (much more so than America, a country which now seems to treat honor as a quaint concept only striven for by suckers and the naive), the Japanese are not likely to let him back in absent some kind of proof he didn’t bet against his stable followed by a sincere public apology (something else the Japanese are big on: apologies).
Buddha,
Is it so?
Hey man cut Pete a break. I still think he should be in the Baseball hall of Fame. If Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth can be there why shouldn’t he?
They wrestle, gamble and have women donning there feet. They get paid a piece of the action and prostitutes are given to them to make them happy. They have a very deep trough to eat out of….the son of Martin Sheen must be gloating…..