January 31st, 2010
by James
Mongolian-born sumo grand champion Asashoryu is in deep trouble after drunkenly assaulting a man in Tokyo:
The latest indiscretion by sumo’s perennial “bad boy” purportedly took place outside a nightclub in Tokyo’s Nishiazabu district in the early hours of Jan. 16 during the recent New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
Asashoryu is alleged to have punched an unidentified man, who reportedly works at the nightclub where the wrestler was drinking, causing the man injuries that included a broken nose, lacerations of the lip and bruises to the back of the head, as reported in the Feb. 4 edition of the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho.
The JSA is set to determine what punishment, if any, Asashoryu will face after its board of directors election Feb. 1.
A few more details from ABC:
….the wrestler punched the man while leaving the club, then offered to talk things over in his car.
It then quoted the victim as telling Asashoryu that the incident was “water under the bridge”.
Asashoryu then reportedly told his driver to take them to a river, saying he would kill the man there.
The man only escaped after screaming out to police who were attending a nearby accident. He was left with a broken nose, a busted lip and bruises to the head.
Unlike the soccer-playing scandal of 2007, this is very serious business. It’s fine for sumo wrestlers to occasionally act like arrogant jerks, but assaulting and threatening to kill people is too much.
Polls, such as the one in the video below, show that the public expects Asashoryu to be banned from the sport:
The last known incident like this took place in 1987, when yokozuna Futahaguro allegedly somersaulted the wife of his stablemaster. The JSA voted to accept his “resignation.” Many believe the JSA will follow this precedent and force an end to Asashoryu’s career.
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