[sumo] [spoilers]Takanohana and steroid abuse

[Scott M. Kahn]

Takanohana was given a free pass because he was Takanohana, the sumo
cash cow.  As Lynn recalls from her first hand accounts, this may
not be of his own design.  He was revered by the public, the Kyokai
promoted him to no end.  And, he (unwittingly) sold his soul to
sumo.  If he abused steroids, then he deprived his adoring public
from seeing him at Jungyo because he was injured.  And this was
often as Yokozuna, liver and joint injuries.

Would we ever see an inquiry into Takanohana and whether he used
steroids, as we are experiencing here in the United States?  No
way.  The Kyokai would never wish that.  Knowing that Takanohana
cheated by abusing steroids, especially if it were at the hands of
his father, would taint sumo to no end.  The pain of knowing that
Takanohana juiced while facing Akebono and Musashimaru would be too
much to take, and fatally embarassing.  As an aside, I wonder
whether this is a reason sumo was not included as a sport in the
Nagano Olympics, the fear of exposure from drug testing.

Fast forward to the Asashoryu debaucle.  The Kyokai goes all out
against him, while having condoned Takanohana for missing many more
Jungyo.  This is in spite of Asashoryu handling his responsibilities
at prior Jungyo, after going out of his way to present himself in a
Yokozuna-like manner, from all reports.  Never mind the unwritten
rule about Yokozuna and Jungyo, and as I suspect but have no first
hand evidence, agreeing with the Kyokai to shift the immediate
burden to Hakuho after having carried it for the Kyokai for so long
by himself.  No, the Kyokai bowed to press hysteria and rabid
oyakata.  I say that if Asashoryu's actions warranted such an
overblown reaction from the Kyokai, that Takanohana's actions
warrant a full investigation into steroid abuse.  If it is found
that he did abuse steroids, either willingly or through awful
advice, then he relinquish his current position, or be suspended
for a time that is equivalent to Asashoryu's punishment multiplied
by the number of Jungyo that Takanohana missed.

I won't hold my breath for the Kyokai to change its spots and show
consistency in its treatment of Takanohana and Asashoryu.

As for the home run race, there was talk of a "juiced ball"at the
time, but physics studies showed that not to be the case.  But when
the likes of Brady Anderson were hitting 50 home runs, there was
talk of players being juiced.  At that time, steroid abuse was not
the topic it is today.  But at least baseball is now revisiting
that era.  Mark McGwire was most likely abusing steroids, this
might come out in the soon to be released Mitchell report.  He will
be denied election to the Hall of Fame in his first year of
eligibility because of the questions.  The public would eventually
forgive him if he owned up to cheating, they will not forgive him
if it is shown in other ways that he cheated.  Lying is worse than
the crime.

Sumo will not investigate the allegations against Takanohana in the
same manner because it will hurt the bottom line if it were proven
that the Taka era was tainted, and it will drive away the
generation of fans who devoted their emotions on Takanohana. 
Again, I refer you to the excellent article that I had mentioned a
few months back.

Sukubidubidu