In a courtroom, he cried over like a big
baby. The first trial on the case of former pro-baseball player, Kazuhiro
Kiyohara, arrested with suspicion of carrying and using pep pills, was held in
Tokyo Regional Court on Tuesday. Kiyohara admitted all the facts of prosecution
and the prosecutor requested two and a half years in prison. Media focused on
unexpected mental weakness of a former eminent baseball slugger, hoping his
early comeback.
Kiyohara was prosecuted on a charge of
receiving 1.2 gram of illegal drug, paying ¥80,000, in a hotel in Ota city,
Gunma, last September, using the drug in a hotel in Tokyo in February, and
possessing 0.2 gram of the drug in his room. The prosecutor appealed that
Kiyohara began to repeatedly use the drug right after his retirement in 2008.
“Using drug occupies a part of his daily life. There is a high possibility of
committing the same crime,” told the prosecutor.
The prosecutor read out the statement of
Kiyohara in the interviews, which indicated that he depended on drug when he
lost his goal as a baseball player. After his retirement, no pro-baseball team
wanted him for coaching, which deeply disappointed Kiyohara. “I could manage my
mental anxiety or stress by playing baseball. But, after the retirement, I lost
the solution and was defeated by drugs,” testified Kiyohara. He revealed his
weakness depending on drug when he suffered from loneliness or pressure.
Former major leaguer, known as “Daimajin”
of Seattle Mariners, Kazuhiro Sasaki, appeared to defend Kiyohara. “He was the
supreme batter. I believe in him to be a man of baseball. I will stand by him.
No same mistake will happen again,” testified Sasaki. Some newspapers and TV
program delivered comments of sports correspondent or baseball commentator that
expected successful rehabilitation and comeback of Kiyohara.
Will it be the end of the story? No, it
must not be. Kiyohara refused to testify how frequently he used the drug or
when and how he started using drug. It is doubted that Kiyohara could have a
long connection with mafia group. He has weirdly huge dragon tattoo on his
front body, which was appeared on the page of Weekly Bunshun magazine. His
weakness may encourage him to get back to the darkness of drug addiction, when
he will be lonely again.
Kiyohara is a betrayer against the dream of
baseball kids in Japan. He still keeps secret of underground friendship related
to drug exchange. Before talking about his early comeback, he needs to be
punished appropriately.
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