Japan going mental as sumo wrestlers admit to match fixing
Feb 4, 2011, 11:30 AM EDT
We’re not seeing riots in the streets, but Japan is aghast in their own reserved way over a big scandal in their national sport, in which three sumo wrestlers have admitted to match fixing and 13 more are under investigation. The evidence came to light when authorities got hold of text messages allegedly sent between several of the wrestlers, one, according to British newspaper The Guardian, reading: “For 20 more I will concede. After the meet, I need to make at least 50 or I’ll be in serious trouble.”
It all makes me think that Pete Rose’s only saving grace was that when he was managing, cell phones hadn’t been invented yet. From CNN:
“Three sumo wrestlers have admitted to match-fixing,” Yoshiaki Takaki, the country’s minister for education and sport, announced to a parliamentary panel.
”Sumo is our national sport. If match-fixing has occurred, it is a very serious betrayal of the people,” Naoto Kan, the country’s Prime Minister, added.
Japan’s Kyodo news service claimed that Tokyo Police had found suspicious messages on a number of wrestlers’ phones that suggested the outcome of several fights had been planned.
Is this the end of sumo in Japan? Hardly. Haven’t you heard of the term “Too big to fail”?
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And Now, This: Sumo Wrestlers Admit To Fixing Matches, Japan In Uproar [Sports Grid]
Sumo ‘fixing’ scandal rocks Japan [CNN]
