Iolani to forfeit 2 soccer matches

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

An apparent hazing incident during a preseason trip to the Big Island has resulted in the Iolani School boys soccer team's forfeiture of two Interscholastic League of Honolulu games, the resignation of head coach Myles Arakawa and three players — including two captains — being "dismissed" from the team.

Iolani athletic director Carl Schroers said last night he "can't go into details" about the incident, which happened two weekends ago at the Hawai'i Prep tournament in Kamuela. But Schroers confirmed it was related to "hazing," which often involves older members of a team forcing the "rookies" to perform certain acts as a form of initiation.

Arakawa, who guided the Raiders to two state championships in six years at the helm and a tie for last season's ILH regular-season championship, withheld comment pending an official statement he said would be released by the school next week.

Jeff Hackler, an Iolani history teacher and former player for the Raiders and Brown University in the 1970s, was named as head coach yesterday. Hackler has long been considered by students to be one of the more popular faculty members and had coached at the intermediate and JV levels at Iolani.

Arakawa, a 1979 graduate of Iolani, had been coaching in the program since 1985.

"It's still a very emotional issue for me, so it might be premature for me to say anything," Arakawa said. "I will say that I still love the school and the program, and I would never do anything to hurt Iolani. Jeff is a good guy, and I'm still very supportive of the program."

Schroers said the entire team was suspended from action for one week effective Dec. 9, resulting in a forfeiture of Wednesday's scheduled opener against St. Louis and tomorrow's scheduled game against Kamehameha.

Schroers said some players suffered further disciplinary action from the school, although none of the students' academic standings will be affected.