Soukokurai to be re-instated!

[Kintamayama 45,530]

The court has ruled that Soukokurai was wrongfully dismissed from sumo during the yaocho scandal and has ordered him to be re-instated immediately unless the Kyokai comes up with concrete evidence. According to sources close to the Kyokai the Kyokai has decided to forgo any attempts to file an appeal, so Soukokurai may be reinstated as a Makuuchi rikishi as early as this coming May!! I checked the date-it ain't April fool's yet.. This is major and of course has never happened before.. He was last ranked at M16 and finished with an 8-7 record.

The Kyokai will be forming a committee of lawyers who will investigate how this happened in the first place.

Ex-Hoshikaze, who appealed with him, was found to be guilty of yaocho and is currently issuing his final appeal to the highest court.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Kintamayama

[Kintamayama 45,530]

Soukokurai interview:

Q: Your mental state at the moment?

A: It was a long process. I'll never forget the day I was dismissed. I'd like to return to the dohyo as soon as possible..

Q: How do you feel about the Kyokai?

A: I never once said I don't like sumo or the Kyokai. I just wanted a thorough investigation.

Q: Did you contact your parents?

A: I called them from the car. They always believed me, so they were really happy.

Q: What do you have to say about "lethargic sumo" ( code for yaocho..)?

A: I'm glad that the verdict was that I did not do it. From here on I will continue to do good sumo and gambarize!

Q: What was the turning point in the trial?

A, lawyer: We contended the whole time that the suspect bout in question was totally legitimate.

Q: What do you think of the Kyokai?

A, lawyer: The trial took a long time and they simply ran out of steam..They can appeal but I hope they don't. I hope they will be positive about his return.

(Later, the rumors were saying the Kyokai will not appeal, but who knows..)

Edited March 26, 2013 by Kintamayama

[Mark.Buckton 68]

that he is non-J makes this all the more important.

[Asashosakari 19,665]

He was M15w on the Haru unbanzuke and would have been ranked there for May 2011 if they hadn't struck out his name, so presumably that's going to be his re-entry rank if nothing happens to change the outcome of the trial now.

With supporters:

Edited March 26, 2013 by Asashosakari

[Tochinofuji 387]

As someone who was a fan of his, I'll be glad to see his return (though I imagine he will remain under some suspicion if he does return as an active rikishi). It will be interesting to see if he'll be able to stay in the top division, or if it will take some time (and a bit of a Juryo tour) to shake the rust off.

[Kintamayama 45,530]

As someone who was a fan of his, I'll be glad to see his return (though I imagine he will remain under some suspicion if he does return as an active rikishi). It will be interesting to see if he'll be able to stay in the top division, or if it will take some time (and a bit of a Juryo tour) to shake the rust off.

I don't think he has a chance of surviving in Makushita unless he gets in shape real quick. Doing exercises and stuff is nothing at all like real keiko, although I do seem to remember reading that his Oyakata allowed him to train despite the Kyokai's warnings back then.

[ronnie 221]

As if GTB wasn't hard enough.

Does Kinta have this judge on his payroll?

[shumitto 418]

I remember some people around the kokugikan back in September, 2011 handing out some leaftlets and wearing some T-shirts for his cause. Good that their effort seems to have paid off. I wonder if the Kyokai still have a card up the sleeves.

On a related note but yet off-topic, since last year I've been meaning to open a thread asking other forumers about which rikishi they missed the most, specially from the group of expellees from 2011 ( or earlier).

My list goes as this:

Hakurozan

Chiyohakuho

Roho

No, I am kidding.

I've missed Kotomitsuki (despite all the back-scratching) Sokokurai and Tokusegawa, in that particular order. At least one of them I will get to see again, I suppose.

Edited March 26, 2013 by shumitto

[Fay 1,677]

Great news!!!

[kawika 123]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2013/03/26/sumo/court-nullifies-sumo-associations-dismissal-of-sokokurai/#.UVEA8mQayc1

[Akinomaki 40,791]

Sokokurai will also get his pay (for the whole time? I don`t find it in the net papers and the news were not that detailed), about 1.3 million yen per month.
Back link to the news list about Sokokurai on the Yaocho thread.

Edited July 11, 2013 by Akinomaki

[Akinomaki 40,791]

As someone who was a fan of his, I'll be glad to see his return (though I imagine he will remain under some suspicion if he does return as an active rikishi). It will be interesting to see if he'll be able to stay in the top division, or if it will take some time (and a bit of a Juryo tour) to shake the rust off.

I don't think he has a chance of surviving in Makushita unless he gets in shape real quick. Doing exercises and stuff is nothing at all like real keiko, although I do seem to remember reading that his Oyakata allowed him to train despite the Kyokai's warnings back then.

Doing rugby and gym training after the kyokai wanted him out of the training dohyo (even other heya offered training opportunities), but no sumo keiko (Asahi TV didn`t say since when), - I think he will drop to juryo at once and to makushita next year.

[Tony 16]

My list goes as this:

Hakurozan

Chiyohakuho

Roho

What did wrong with Chiyohakuho? His sumo? His behaviour?

[Asojima 2,874]

A quick kyokai decision is needed before the next banzuke is formulated. The alternative may be to go with a 43 man Makuuchi with Sokokurai sitting in a M15TD type position, which may not be all that bad.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Asojima

[kuroimori 1,634]

whoa!

didn't see that coming at all!

exciting news especially if the NSK really won't appeal.

[krindel 675]

Wow... Really impressive.

Its the first time ever that the courts have ruled against the NSK in a dismissal case, right?

[Kintamayama 45,530]

Kitanoumi rijicho: "We will be taking this judgement seriously. We will be discussing how to go about this with our lawyers".

The banzuke making committee will gather tomorrow for the usual banzuke-making but it doesn't look like they are ready for this yet, and things will be thrown into discord, says the paper.

The Kyokai is also quite angry at the "Special Yaocho Committee" thingy (that has been dispersed in the mean time) that promised a certain victory in the courts.

"I am so happy for him. It's been a long time coming. He has really gambarized.." said a tearful Arashio Oyakata. "He has been going to the gym and stuff, but I'd rather he sat out the next two basho to get himself back in shape," added the Oyakata. There are no concrete plans at the moment for his restarting keiko. For the last two years, Soukokurai was part of the heya as an "assistant instructor". "His keshomawashi and other stuff are as he had left them," said the Oyakata who believed him all the way. As for his thoughts on the special committee: "They had a questionable side as well.."

Edited March 26, 2013 by Kintamayama

[Fukurou 534]

The Kyokai is also quite angry at the "Special Yaocho Committee" thingy (that has been dispersed in the mean time) that promised a certain victory in the courts.

There's doing things to help the "business", and there's doing things legally to help the business. Must have run afoul of the latter (no legitimate evidence)

[krindel 675]

A quick kyokai decision is needed before the next banzuke is formulated. The alternative may be to go with a 43 man Makuuchi with Sokokurai sitting in a M15TD type position, which may not be all that bad.

I think this is the only realistic choice for him to come back with a minimum of upsets...

[Jakusotsu 6,049]

I think this is the only realistic choice for him to come back with a minimum of upsets...

...but then again, a "clean" banzuke without a tsukedashi sticking out might be better to gloss over things.

[krindel 675]

I think this is the only realistic choice for him to come back with a minimum of upsets...

...but then again, a "clean" banzuke without a tsukedashi sticking out might be better to gloss over things.

Sure, but then you get one rikishi that was to be Makuuchi drop to juryo, and one from Juryo drop to Makushita screwing with everyone's calculations...

So two unhappy rikishi, and two unhappy oyakata. And since in that case a very probable scenario is for Homasho and Seiro to BOTH end up Makushita, I think the REALLY unhappy one would be Shikoroyama-oyakata, who'll get left without a sekitori...

[Jakusotsu 6,049]

Well, they sure didn't mind filling the gap when Sokokurai was sacked.

[shumitto 418]

After giving the matter some thought I find the position of the Kyokai to be a difficult one. If they appeal the decision and it goes on forever but Sokokurai still is reinstated, it will further dent their already damaged reputation. But if they accept it, it will acknowledge the flaws of their so far 'perfect' handling of the yaocho thing. A Maegashira HD15 looks to me like the best option. It would take him at least half a year to adjust after losing two of the most important years in a sumo career, but on the bright side he's had time to heal his injuries.

What did wrong with Chiyohakuho? His sumo? His behaviour?

1st - skipped drug tests in 2008; 2nd - suspended over baseball gambling in 2010 ; 3rd - retirement in the aftermath of the yaocho scandal in 2011, after some messages were found on his cellphone.

[krindel 675]

Well, they sure didn't mind filling the gap when Sokokurai was sacked.

Hey, I am not talking strictly about fairness here, just exploring the bumps on the road the NSK has to face now... And lets face it, the ones that currently stand to lose the most (like Homasho / Seiro / Chiyoo) were not exactly the people who benefited from the Yaocho scandal dismissals ...

I am really glad the guy is back, if the evidence against him was insufficient and he has every right to his position... But in my book, two wrongs don't make a right, so the other rikishi have a right to their position too, hence my personal preference for the tsukedashi option.

[Jakusotsu 6,049]

And just like Gernobono said in the German forum, I'm not quite convinced that Sokokurai would be that badly out of shape to immediately fall back to Juryo. There's plenty of time until Natsu Basho.