Posted on: Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Kona player draws assault complaint
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Advertiser Staff
A police complaint has been filed against a Konawaena basketball player who tackled a referee after being ejected during a high school game last Wednesday.
The referee, Mason Souza, filed a complaint, alleging that Kainoa Abril, 18, of Captain Cook, assaulted Souza during a basketball game in Kona.
The complaint will be investigated by Kona patrol officers, and the results will be forwarded to the Big Island prosecutor's office for a decision on whether charges should be filed, said police department spokesman Buck Donham.
Konawaena athletic director Lyle Crozier said the senior has been dismissed from the team and also will not be allowed to play any sports for the rest of the year.
Any additional discipline, such as suspension from school, is being kept confidential.
A league official said no further action will be taken against the Konawaena basketball team at this time.
If so, the Wildcats will be allowed to play in the ongoing Big Island Interscholastic Federation Tournament and the upcoming state tournament.
BIIF executive secretary Keith Morioka, who said he reviewed a tape of the incident six to seven times, said in such instances "the school will handle the discipline of the athlete. If the school doesn't do anything, then the league may step in. At this time, the league won't be doing anything because they (Konawaena) are complying with the policy of league."
However, Konawaena principal Shawn Suzuki, who was on O'ahu for a two-day workshop yesterday, said the case is not closed.
"It's not something we took lightly. We understand the seriousness of this," Suzuki said. "It's a good idea to meet as a league and review situations like this."
Suzuki said he expects to meet with league principals this week. The principals comprise the BIIF board of directors and if it "makes a recommendation, then that's what we'll comply with," Morioka said.
The incident was captured on video, which was shown on KITV Monday and again last night.
The incident occurred midway in the first quarter of the Konawaena-Waiakea boys game Feb. 9 that decided the BIIF championship. The game continued and Konawaena won, 62-47.
The video shows Abril delivering an elbow or punch to a Waiakea player during the game.
The Waiakea player did not retaliate in the video clip.
In the ensuing sequence, Abril again engages the player, who once more does not retaliate. Both players are then ejected.
After being escorted toward the bench, Abril comes from off camera and charges referee Souza, making contact at Souza's waist and knees.
Abril does not throw a punch in the video.
The game resumed, according to Morioka, because Souza said the game was under control other than that incident.
Crozier said the team is planning to continue playing. "It's one kid and we got 10-11 other kids," he said.
The teams meet again Friday for the overall BIIF Tournament title.
Under BIIF policy, Abril would have been dismissed regardless of what Konawaena decided.
According to Morioka, the BIIF has a policy where if a player is ejected twice in a season, he will be dismissed from the team.
Abril was ejected during a preseason game in the Hilo Tournament on Dec. 16, and was subsequently held out of competition for a month, Crozier said.
Crozier said after the first incident, a meeting was held with Abril's parents and they were told to attend every Konawaena game.
There were no other episodes until last Wednesday.
"As the principal and member of this community, it is my hope and the school's hope that the generalizations about our school is not based on an individual's actions," Suzuki said.
This is the second incident in two years in which an official was attacked during a Hawai'i high school game.
In February 2003, a Baldwin High School soccer player knocked down a referee after Baldwin's 4-3 loss to Pearl City in a state tournament game.
In that incident, Baldwin forfeited its next game and eliminated itself from the tournament.
School officials expelled the player from the team, but the senior was allowed to attend classes. In addition, officials placed the Baldwin boys soccer program on a one-year "conduct probation."
The Baldwin head coach was released by the school and banned from coaching in the Maui Interscholastic League for five years by the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association and the MIL.
In the incident, the player rushed up behind the referee and shoved him to the ground immediately after the final whistle.
