As any fan of the Freakonomics books knows, the world of sumo wrestling has been dogged by match fixing scandals in recent years. And because we know that you want your sumo wrestling beyond reproach, it’s our sad duty to relate that the world of sumo is now embroiled in another big gambling flap.
In Japan, Sumo Losing Ground To Its Own Scandals
A slew of top-division sumo wrestlers—including its second-ranked wrestler—won’t compete in next month’s Nagoya grand tournament, in an unprecedented decision, after 65 of the sport’s 700 active sumo wrestlers admitted to illegally gambling on baseball and other games.That’s probably not as bad as being found to throw matches on purpose, but having nearly 10 percent of the participants in any sport absent due to misdeeds is going to leave a mark on that sport’s reputation. It’s gotten so bad that the chairman of the Japan Sumo Association is being punished along with the transgressors during the month of July. And, as the problems continue to mount, Japanese fans lose more and more interest.
The tarnished reputation of sumo contrasts sharply with the current success of Japan’s national soccer team, which has advanced to the second round of the World Cup tournament for the first time outside home territory.Sumo has been steadily losing popularity in Japan in recent years to soccer and other sports, including baseball.
That’s probably not incredibly good for the future of sumo, given that it’s not an integral part of the sporting culture many other places on the planet.
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