[sumo] [spoilers]Takanohana and steroid abuse

[Mike Chamberlain]

>
> Asashoryu was suspended because he is disliked.  There
> really is nothing beyond that.

Come on.  Asashoryou was punished for the equivalent of calling in sick and 
getting caught out on the golf course, even if it was a charity tournament. 
He wasn't fired; he was suspended.  Was the punishment excessive?  I believe 
it was.  Was it justified?  Well, if you take it out of context--the context 
is years of "un-yokozuna" like behavior--then maybe it can be argued that he 
should have been given a pass this one time.  But he's had a history of 
doing things that the Kyokai and sumo traditionalists don't like, actions 
that are considered rude and not fitting of his rank "in Japanese culture." 
And cultural norms, despite your best wishes, are not absolute.
>
> The excuse..that Asa engaged in physical activity is
> rather silly and screams of grasping for any reason to
> remove him.

Well, maybe the Kyokai was looking for an excuse to teach him a lesson. 
After all, they hadn't been happy with Asa's behavior since just about Day 
One.  That didn't stop them from promoting him to yokozuna.  But you've 
heard of straws and camels' backs, and this was apparently it for the 
Kyokai.  And it appears that Asashoryou was punished not just for this 
"crime" but also for the various minor transgressions over the years.  Just? 
It's a closed shop.  The Kyokai can do what they like, and if Asa wants to 
stay in ozumo, he has to play by their rules, whether they fit your, my, or 
his conception of rightness.

Beisuborumaru (ret.)