Football
Kahuku lawsuit hearing set for tomorrow


 



Kahuku's next battle will move from the gridiron to the court.

An attorney representing players and parents of Kahuku's football team filed for an injunction Monday in First Circuit Court to allow the top-ranked Red Raiders to play in the upcoming state football tournament.

A hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in Circuit Court, with Judge Karl Sakamoto presiding.

The lawsuit comes three days after the O'ahu Interscholastic Association ruled Kahuku had to forfeit wins from its 10-0 season for using an ineligible player, in the process ousting it from the state tournament, which starts Friday.

"Basically to bring down the death penalty for a minor infraction is something we simply cannot tolerate," said Eric Seitz, attorney representing the plaintiffs, outside his downtown office yesterday in front of some 300 red-clad Kahuku supporters, including players and parents.

The lawsuit is solely by players and parents, as Kahuku High administrators were not present.

Defendants named in the lawsuit are State schools' Superintendent Kathryn S. Matayoshi, the OIA and the Hawaii High School Athletic Association, which sponsors the state tournament.

OIA executive director Dwight Toyama declined comment, saying the matter is between the league's attorneys and the plaintiffs'.

HHSAA executive director Christopher Chun said he does not understand why the HHSAA is named in the lawsuit because it has nothing to do with who the OIA chooses to represent in the tournament.

Seitz would like to see the state tournament's opening round postponed another week. He said the tournament has leeway because it has started a week later in previous seasons.

But Chun said extending the football season by a week would violate Title IX because the boys' and girls' sports seasons must be the same.

Kahuku self-reported a clerical error that led to the forfeitures. The player cited was said to be a non-starter. An OIA rules committee found Thursday that Kahuku violated a rule regarding a player who repeated the ninth grade. Under OIA rules, players have four consecutive years from entering high school in the ninth grade to play in four athletic seasons. Kahuku was forced to forfeit games the player participated in, although the affected games have yet to have been disclosed.

Kahuku's appeal before OIA principals Friday was denied, canceling that night's OIA Red football title game, giving Mililani the championship. The OIA was severely impacted at the gate without the Red title game.

Having reached the OIA Red championship, Kahuku had qualified for a state berth. The OIA has three berths in the Division I tournament, which begins Friday. Saturday's game between Leilehua and Wai'anae was to determine the league's third and final berth. But with Kahuku out, Leilehua's 28-20 win against Wai'anae was just for state seeding purposes.

Seitz contends there was "ample discretion" by the OIA to rule differently.

"The rule that's been cited says that the OIA 'may' take an action," Seitz said. "'May' is a legal term that gives discretion. So frankly, the rule is being misinterpreted. There is discretion.

"I understand also that there has been instances in past where this kind of an action has not been taken to disqualify people over these kinds of eligibility issues."

Seitz said he does not have details of those instances. "But I do know the rule, you give them flexibility and discretion. They read the rule to be black and white. They're wrong."

Should the courts allow Kahuku into the tournament, there would be a spiraling effect.

Wai'anae would be presumed to be the odd team out. Traveling teams, such as Leilehua (to Maui), Kalaheo (to Kauai) and Kaimuki (to the Big Island), would be adversely affected. Aside from the teams, parents and supporters who made plane and hotel reservations would be affected.

Seitz said sponsors would be more than happy to cooperate because of support from the "community at large."

Historically, plaintiffs have been unsuccessful in challenging similar matters in high school athletics.

"The kids are entitled to due process and the process in this case includes, in my view, a fair exercise in discretion, a fair opportunity to be heard," Seitz said. "It's difficult to establish standing to get kids to assert their rights in this kind of context. It's difficult, but I don't think impossible."

In 1982, two Kaiser baseball players were ruled ineligible just before the OIA playoffs for allegedly violating residency rules. Their attorneys were successful in obtaining a temporary restraining order to halt the playoffs, which ended up delayed five days. Unlike the Kahuku matter, the Kaiser players had the backing of their school administrators, who claimed the OIA principals' committee did not offer the players a chance to plead their case. The sides reached an out-of-court compromise in which Kaiser accepted the forfeiture ruling in exchange for the players' and school's side being heard before the principal's group.

The controversy essentially led to procedures used today. Friday's appeal process is where the league listens to the penalized school's side.

The Kahuku players are hopeful for a decision in their favor.

"I feel the decision on our team was real harsh," said senior QB Evan Moe, one of the plaintiffs. "We could've at least played (the OIA championship) before a decision was made."

Moe said he is prepared if the court's decision goes against his team.

"We already accepted when we first got told we would not play," Moe said. "Now, we're all back at it again. If we're told the same thing, we can handle it because we already did it once."

Seitz said he is representing the plaintiffs pro bono. Also, the service of the three yellow school buses that brought the supporters from the North Shore to town were "donated," said Joseph Napeahi, father of offensive lineman Jamal Napeahi, both plaintiffs of the lawsuit. Bus rentals for athletic teams usually run from $200 to $300 each.


Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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