Sumo wrestler arrested for marijuana
In a first for the Japanese sport of Sumo Wrestling, a wrestler was arrested for marijuana possession in Japan.
For the first time that sumo wrestling’s governing body can recall, one of its revered athletes has been nabbed for drug possession.
On Thursday, the Japanese Sumo Association fired 335-pound Soslan Aleksandrovich Gagloev, better known in Japan as Wakanoho.
Police arrested the Russian wrestler this week after saying they found a third of a gram of marijuana in his wallet — enough to land him in prison on a diet of forced labor for five years if he’s convicted.
It’s the latest black eye for a sport closely intwined with Japanese culture and history. Fans have long expected humility and dignity from their sumo wrestlers, so the arrest stunned people in Japan, where the national sport has taken a beating in the last year or so.
