Thursday, April 16, 2009Suma Master Could Get Seven Years in Jail for Hazing Sumo hazing? Sumo hazing? Really?
I suppose, considering the crazy things they do on Japanese TV, we should not be surprised at this. Although I did think that sumo wrestling was always a dignified sport . . . except for the part where they hire young boys to serve as official butt wipers for the guys too fat to reach around for themselves. But OTHER THAN THAT, sumo seemed above all the usual sports crap. But no, hazing is apparently as much a part of this sport as any. Here's more from Japan Today:Prosecutors on Tuesday demanded seven years in prison for a former sumo elder accused of ordering wrestlers at his stable to assault a 17-year-old grappler who later died from related injuries. During hearings at the Nagoya District Court in the high-profile case that has marred Japan’s national sport, Junichi Yamamoto, 59, apologized to the relatives of the victim, Takashi Saito, over the 2007 incident in Aichi Prefecture, but denied giving an order to assault him.
The case has already seen three other wrestlers in the stable convicted in a separate trial. According to the indictment, Yamamoto beat Saito with a beer bottle and ordered the wrestlers to hit him on June 25, 2007. On the following day, they also subjected Saito to what they called ‘‘exercise’’ for about 30 minutes, slamming him on the sumo ring and hitting him with a metal bat. Saito later died from shock as a result of multiple trauma.Labels: hazing, sumo wrestling
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