[sumo] Tokitsukaze beya rikishi dies

[Barbara]

It seems like a couple of kids every year die suddenly and unexpectedly 
during basketball here in the US. That is an aerobic sport, not a 
contact sport.  Is there any reason to suspect bad treatment in these 
cases?  I think teenagers who have never been pushed to their limit will 
have a small but nonzero chance of dying in any sport, Japan or 
elsewhere.  Hazing is a deprecable practice but I don't see why we 
should blame it in this case.  The media, on the other hand, are 
different. It is their job to inflame conspiracy theories, corrupt 
practices, and illicit behavior of all kinds, and if they cannot uncover 
the real thing they can always create nearly the same effect by 
pretending there is a big cover-up and giving that as the explanation 
for there being no corroborating evidence. We are stooges of the media 
if we play along with them.  The poor boy probably had an undiagnosed 
valve defect, arterial aneurysm or some other "time bomb" which might 
not have shown up for decades -- if only he had not gone into a tough 
physical sport as he did.  Every person on the planet has some level of 
exertion which will kill them, if they exceed it.  For most that level 
is higher than they can or will push themselves. But for a few, it is 
sadly a little bit lower.


Barbara Murasakihana

Joe Kuroda wrote:
> Recruits died in a heya previously but not much has
> happened. Oyakata suffered a crippiling illness or
> some died like Hatachiyama recently but things go on
> just like always. 
> 
> Ostensively they will make some type of small gesture
> but that's just about all.