Sumo great Hakuho could lose stable over protege's bullying: reports

Seems like he is taking responsibility. Politicians could learn from this.

Stop bullying, it doesn't matter if its Sumo stable!

Seems like he is taking responsibility.

Seems more like the Sumo association is FORCING him to take responsibility! He has NEVER been popular among them!

Hokuheiso was rightly forced to quit for his violent actions.

And Hakuho must bear responsibility for those under his charge.

But this dismantling of the stable seems a little more of finally a chance to get rid of arguably the GOAT.

He has never been liked by the establishment. His manner, his style and his ethnicity!

Meanwhile Sumo needs to take a close look at the world it has created based on an ancient hierarchy that treats most of the underlings as serfs. Juniors are subjugated to years of systemic bullying as part of the "toughening up" process in order to stay within the ranks. The toxic culture that is based on this violence will surely produce violent young men. It surely has always been the case, just that until recent years no media service would dare report on the hallowed goings on in the "sacred " world.

Couple all of this with the history of corruption, yakuza links, illegal gambling, outdated notions, match fixing etc etc and you get a picture of a world far removed from the rules of normal society, that operates on it's criteria in it's own time loop.

Now with digital media being able to access and report on what it want's - and not sparing sumo scandals - the Sumo Association is trying to be seen to acting in the interests of all, mainly in an attempt of staying relevant in the 21stC.

It will need more than an "example setting" by downgrading of seniors. It will need to hose-out the whole toxic environment that may have stood it well in Taisho and before, but will not succeed in preventing the demise of sumo if not enacted.

But I doubt it can clean itself.

What would happen if we applied this reasoning to other areas of Japanese society:

— If an LDP underling engaged in unacceptable behavior, the leader of the LDP would be removed.

— If a teacher engaged in unacceptable behavior, the principal would be removed.

— If an athlete engaged in unacceptable behavior, the coach would be removed.

— If a company employee engaged in unacceptable behavior, the company president would be removed.

It seems that Hakuho’s punishment is far too harsh when compared to how Japanese society generally responds. I have read that the Mongolia-born Hakuho (currently known as Miyagino) has never been a favorite of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA), so I wonder whether the JSA is being exceptionally harsh to force Hakuho out of sumo.

I wonder if it was difficult for a Mongolian to master the art of bullying. Good to see that he feels remorse and takes responsibility for his mistakes.

"Bullying" sez the Japanese pot to the Mongolian kettle. Closing the stable door on Hakuho will leave a slime trail of prejudice and a bad aftertaste of "bullying" on another level.

Arrogance in Japan is not rewarded.

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Its hard to form an opinion without knowing more.

If Hakuho knew this crap was going on in his stable and turned a blind eye to it I think it’s perfectly reasonable for them to take it away from him.

On the other hand if this was more a case of him doing his best to oversee things but a bad egg slipping through its a bit more of a grey area. Definitely a dereliction on his part, but not as blameworthy as it would be if he had knowingly let it go on.

Champion sportspeople - even the greatest - sometimes make very poor coaches and managers.

Tried, judged and punished all in total secrecy. Where are the wrestlers making the accusations of bullying? Perhaps they had a personal grudge against their boss. It really smells of a vendetta by the JSA...

Hakuho, be nice..