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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Monday, July 9, 2001

St. Louis principal resigned to Lee's departure

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

If someone is going to try and talk Cal Lee out of stepping down as football coach at St. Louis School, it won't be the principal.

Burton Tomita said yesterday that "as much as I'd like (Lee) to stay on and say, 'The door is open,'" Lee's mind appears to be made up and his decision should be respected.

Lee, the winningest football coach in Hawai'i high school history, told Tomita on Friday afternoon that the upcoming season would be his last. Tomita said the announcement came as a surprise and Lee still had not discussed it at length with school president Allen DeLong, who is on the Mainland and is not expected to return to campus until July 17.

James Burns, president of the 1,500-member St. Louis Alumni Association, and Walter Kirimitsu, chairman of the school's 22-member Board of Trustees, could not be reached for comment.

But Tomita, St. Louis' principal since 1991, said he does not think anyone would be able to persuade Lee to reverse his field.

"Cal put a lot of effort into his decision, he gave it a lot of thought, and it doesn't appear to be open for negotiation," Tomita said. "When Father Allen returns, I'm sure he certainly would like to talk to him about it, and we'll all sit down. But at least to me, (Lee) has made it very clear how he feels, and I've got to honor that."

Lee has weighed college coaching opportunities several times in the past 20 years, but remained at the St. Louis helm. He said on Saturday that his decision to step down after this season is "the real deal" and that he is "100 percent" certain.

"Following the number of times he's reconsidered (in the past) and stayed with the program, it appears his mind is made up this time," Tomita said. "He's got nothing left to prove. And as much as he's done for our school, it's hard for us to say, 'Please, one more year.' When you talk about school icons, like ('Iolani's) Eddie Hamada or (Wai'anae's) Larry Ginoza, realistically, what more can you ask?

"We're losing a great coach, but we cannot force him to stay," Tomita added. "I think everybody would agree that we have to respect the man for his decision. We owe him at least that."

Regarding Lee's successor, Tomita said he is hoping that one of Lee's current assistants can fill the position.

"One of the things Cal has established here is an outstanding coaching staff," Tomita said. "Hopefully, somebody from there will emerge so we can continue our success."