Saint Louis starting linebacker Nick Herbig has been suspended by the school for engaging in an off-campus altercation over the weekend, according to Crusaders football coach Cal Lee.
An official statement from the school was released this morning.
“Saint Louis School does not comment on any individual student disciplinary matters. However, Saint Louis School takes all students code of conduct matters seriously and is guided by principles set forth in the Saint Louis School Student Handbook.”
According to Lee, the incident occurred on Saturday night after the completion of the recent girls volleyball state championships. Herbig and teammate Jordan Botelho were at the championship match between Kamehameha and Punahou, supporting a friend of Herbig who plays for the Warriors. During the match, Botelho got into a verbal back-and-forth with a Kamehameha student, adding fuel to an exchange that had begun on social media prior to Saturday.
The two parties met outside the arena after the match.
“I talked to them about it. There’s witnesses. Nobody jumped him or anything,” Lee said on Thursday morning. “I just think, how the kids are, evidently they’ve been talking (on social media). Mouthing off. Botelho and this kid didn’t like each other. They were at the game, talking about it, ‘Let’s go.’ They went out there, the kid threw the first punch at Botelho, and Botelho hit him. Herbig said the kid came to him and he defended himself. I may be biased, but these guys can take care of themselves. They don’t have to go look for a fight.”
Lee doesn’t believe a suspension was necessary because his players were defending themselves.
“Well, the school, for some reason, suspended Herbig,” he said.
The suspension will keep him out of Friday’s game between the No. 1-ranked Crusaders and No. 2 Punahou. The repercussions could have been worse for Saint Louis if Botelho had also been suspended. Botelho, a commit to Notre Dame, and Herbig, a commit to Wisconsin, are the most heavily recruited players in the islands.
Lee does not believe this incident will impact the Badgers’ scholarship offer to Herbig, or the Fighting Irish’s offer to Botelho.
“I don’t think they’re going to change anything. They’ve got to know what really happened. Until they find out the facts, that’s where people are going to get involved,” Lee said.
The student from Kamehameha, Lee noted, is not a football player.
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