TOKYO — The venerable sport of sumo wrestling — already reeling from a series of drug and bad-conduct scandals — said today it may suspend dozens of top wrestlers and coaches for allegedly betting tens of thousands of dollars on baseball games.

If the suspensions go through, about one-third of the sport's top wrestlers would have to sit out the next tournament, one of only six held each year.

The Japan Sumo Association is considering suspending or expelling 14 wrestlers and 13 coaches for involvement in the gambling ring, which allegedly involved gangster middlemen and has deeply tarnished the image of Japan's ancient national sport.

The association said it would, however, hold its next tournament as planned from July 11, although sponsors have threatened to pull out.

"We will accept our punishment," Otake, a leading coach who has admitting to gambling for several years, said in a tearful interview with public broadcaster NHK.

Otake acknowledged running up betting debts of more than $50,000. The scandal has led to one arrest and could spread further. Last month, Tokyo police arrested former sumo wrestler Mitsutomo Furuichi, 38, on suspicion of extorting $38,800 in hush money from wrestler Kotomitsuki — an Otake protege who holds the sport's second-highest rank — to cover up his baseball gambling habit. An internal survey by the Japan Sumo Association last month found at least 65 of its members had been involved in illegal gambling.

Even without further charges, gambling is seen as a breach of discipline and not in keeping with stringent ethical standards sumo wrestlers are expected to observe.

It was not immediately clear if the association's chairman, former wrestler Musashigawa, would step down. Sumo association officials had no immediate comment other than to confirm the tournament would go ahead and punishment for those involved was being considered.

The association's decision came after an independent panel recommended the next tournament be canceled unless serious action was taken.

That would be unprecedented and costly. Sumo tournaments are televised live, and canceling the 15-day event would be a major blow to the sport. But a member of the oversight panel said sumo needs to clear its name.

"There will be no tomorrow for sumo unless they take these kind of measures," said Shigeru Ito, the head of the panel.