Kahuku boys basketball coach Alan Akina filed a lawsuit in the First Circuit Court on Monday against the Department of Education, the Kahuku administration and some parents of players on the team.
Akina contends he was wrongly suspended due to placing his freshman son, Kawika Akina, on the varsity team.
Kahuku principal Pauline Masaniai and athletic director Gillian Yamagata were named as defendants along with parents Deloma Sauvao and Pua Spencer, and the Department of Education. There are other unnamed defendants.
The plaintiffs are listed as Alan Akina and his wife Leeann Lauritzen Akina individually and as guardians of Kawika Akina.
Akina is looking for relief and damages stemming from what is written in the suit as “summary removal and indefinite suspension as head coach … and defamatory, threatening and harmful actions taken” against him and his son.
Coach Akina, who is also the president and chief operating officer of 101 Financial in Kahuku, is seeking reinstatement from a suspension described in the suit as “arbitrary and capricious” and for “preliminary and permanent” injunctions restraining the defendants from continuing the suspension.
In the suit, Akina states that at a meeting in the summer of 2015, Yamagata told him that the Red Raiders student-athletes respected and appreciated him but that certain unidentified parents were concerned that he may favor Kawika, who was planning to try out for the team.
Kawika Akina was one of 12 players who made the varsity team, and the coach made no cuts.
The suit contends that the plaintiffs were informed that defendants Sauvao, Spencer and others complained to defendants Masaniai and Yamagata “that Kawika’s selection to play for the varsity would result in less playing time and/or unfair treatment of their respective sons and that the (parents) demanded that (Akina) be fired and/or Kawika be demoted to play on the junior varsity team.”
In mid-November, according to the suit, (Masaniai and Yamagata) “summoned (Akina) to a meeting at which they ordered him to place Kawika on the junior varsity team regardless of the rights Kawika has based upon his performance and evaluations in the team tryouts.”
Following the order by Masaniai and Yamagata, Akina demoted Kawika to the JV team, where he played three games. After that, when a varsity player was hurt, Akina brought Kawika back up to the varsity. Akina, who is being represented by attorney Eric A. Seitz, argues that the decision was made by the full basketball staff “based on Kawika’s skills and hard work.”
Allegedly, according to the suit, that’s when Sauvao, Spencer and other parents demanded Akina be fired.
Due to a boycott, apparently planned by some Red Raiders parents and aimed at having Akina removed, only five Kahuku players showed up for a Dec. 26 game at the Punahou tournament. On Dec. 29, after Akina was suspended following the Dec. 26 game and with an interim coach at the helm, all of Kahuku’s players were allowed to play, including those who boycotted, except for, the suit explains, Kawika Akina, who has played minimally in subsequent varsity games.
The suit also alleges that coach Akina’s right to due process of law were violated and that he has “suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable harm to his professional reputation and standing and earning capacity.” In addition, the suit alleges that some of the defendants made defamatory and false statements about Akina.
An email sent by Hawaii Prep World to Masaniai for comment was not returned.
Lindsay Chambers, a DOE spokesperson, replied to a Hawaii Prep World email with this statement: “Coach Akina has been placed on indefinite leave pending an inquiry from complaints from our boys on the varsity basketball team and their parents. Details about the investigation are confidential.”
Malo e lelei
He’i kai fe’unga ke’ilo ha lea ‘etaha
Toki sio!
Auwe. I hate to see it come to this. I had so much respect for the Kahuku parents after how they willed their football team to victory over St Louis. . But doing that to Coach Akina stinks. I hope he wins the lawsuit.
So Sad….One of the parents Alan is suing is a single parent to 4 children and 1 of them is on his mission. Mahatma Gandhi so you still want Alan to win that’s shame!
The Principal got to go. More drama than a soap opera. Typical for a Principal through, bow down to parental pressure without protecting the coach. This is why we need unions. PS. I know coaches are not in a union.
Yeah hate to see it come down to that. If you look at film from the past year, you can see why parents feel that way. Hopefully it will end peacefully.
It’s not about the parents it’s all about the boys! The boys spoke & that’s who the principal is listening to.
Whatever started all of this, the coach wasn’t given his due process. And if it’s all about the boys, what about Kawika. He’s caught in the middle of all of this. No class parents and no class administration. Been going on too long on the NS.
Joy – So what if she is a single parent and one is on a mission? What does that have to do with all of this? Her being single having 4 kids has absolutely nothing to do with the situation.
Coaching can be a thankless job. Pennies on the dollar for pay only for the players and parents to complain. Sad situation all around.
Single parent family is common these days with 1 in 2 marriages ending in divorce. No relevance at all to the basketball situation at Kahuku.
You play the BEST that you have to WIN when you are at the High School level! Playing everyone is for PAL/Park League & Intermediate levels.
This could have all been avoided if PARENTS let the COACHES coach!
I read a comment that its the BOYS making the complaint, well who knows if its the boys or the parents pressuring the boys?
GO COACH AKINA!
I hope he takes them all to the cleaners. Parents have to know their place in sports, on the sidelines.
To Hilife & Fan of sports:
Its better to get all the information before you judge other people. Yes, it has everything to do with the situation because it’s a SINGLE MOTHER supporting how her son’s feel. So before you comment put yourself in that situation. Again it’s sad Akina is suing a single parent and its also sad he has to use his son as a pawn for his unethical behavior.
I don’t think he’s suing for $.
I am the child of a single parent and my mother would NEVER use being a single parent as an EXCUSE for anything and that was back in the day when it wasn’t common like today. As far as I know being a single parent or a blended family doesn’t excuse anyone from being sued.
Is this family okay with YOU making their family situation public on a blog??
Let Coaches Coach.
Joy – yes you should get ALL the information before you judge. I’m sure you’ve talked to the mother, have you talked to Alan? Are you sure it’s how the son feels or how the mom feels? Look who is judging calling Alan’s behavior unethical? How is it unethical for a MARRIED FATHER to support his child for the spot he earned on the team? Is it unethical for a parent to try and keep Kawika, who earned his spot on the team from playing on the varsity team? What about Kawika’s feeling? Is it right to discriminate against him because his father is the coach? There are 15 spots on the team and only 12 tried out. Everyone made the team regardless of skills. This is high school sports and not all kids are going to get the playing time that they think their child deserves. Again being a single mom or a married parent has nothing to do with the situation. To me this is a parent thinking and acting on personal emotions and not common sense. I feel for her as her children was not getting the play time that she thinks they deserve, I too am a parent who had a child playing high school sports and felt that my child should have gotten a little more play time but at the same time I had to realize that my son was not a standout. I know how it feels to go to a game where you child doesn’t play.
This is common in Red Raider country. Coach Johnson, Livai, Torres. The parents run the show and yes, they use their children as pawns, to get the results they want.
I remember Coach Hess getting axed in the 90s for benching the star player for not tucking in his shirt during a game. Haha. Basketball is a sport that relies heavily on quality and not quantity, which is why only football banners hang in the gym. All that athletic talent, we’d think they’d at least compete for a title on occasion.
I don’t think money is the issue for the lawsuit. I think coach Akina just wants his name clear of any wrong doing and his sons to be treated fairly in this whole athletic process. It’s hard to say who did this and who did that only those involved know what is going on.
Bottom line is, parents should let the coaches do their job and their son/daughters deal with it on a personal level. It teaches our student athletes to be independent and to deal with their problems or feelings. Self advocacy stand up for yourself and deal with the adversity that is in front of you. Players and parents must understand that the world is not a fair place and sometimes we have to work and fight that much harder to get want we want.
I think coach Akina is right in doing this to protect himself and ultimately his boys. This case can open up a can of worms if Coach Akina loses. This will set the precedence of what is to come in the future of high school sports in Hawaii.
I will end with this statement that is announced at majority of the high school games:
sportsmanship is an expectation so please let the players play, let the coaches coach, let the officials officiate, and let the spectators be positive. It is important for all players, coaches, and spectators accept victory with grace and defeat with dignity.
So sad that the AD couldn’t handle this problem it show that s/he don’t have the skill.
After talking to Coach Alan, I mentioned to him that he should ask his lawyer to look into not only defamation of character by a few parents, but also to look into libel on this very blog. I hope he takes my advice. There have been quite a few people “publishing” inaccurate and damaging remarks that could potentially damage his reputation and business practices.
To Mahatma Gandhi, fan, hilife, fan of sports, Leato, ahi1, pono, ponojr, Irish Fan, I totally agree with what you guys all said. And for 88, Jerry will authenticate that none of these guys are me.
When I use one of my 1000 other usernames you will know since it’s typically directed are your ignorance, foolishness, or utter stupidity. It probably won’t happen since Coach Alan is a fine man. But I really hope they get the name of the few users on this blog who has been “possibly” committing libel and he names them in another suit. I would love to see if you would be able to scrape up enough government assistance to hire a lawyer to defend yourself.
My guess is some parents live through their kids and/or cannot recognize that the Coach has been running the team fairly.
I applaud Coach Alan for taking the proper steps rationally and legally. He isn’t making threats or trying to scare anyone with physical violence or verbal threats.
He is using the judicial system to protect his good name and get back what was legally his.
Why didn’t Coach Akina seek legal counsel in the summer when he was told of this requirement? Why did he accept the job knowing these stipulations?
I guess Kahuku should just let the parents coach all of their sports, they seem to know better than the coaches that have spent so much time learning their craft.. Always succumbing to parental and community pressure to do things that the administration SHOULD know is wrong. I have been a coach for over 20 years and I would never coach for an administration, especially one lead by principal Pauline Masaniai and athletic director Gillian Yamagata. When you show no respect and/or respect for your coaches, you don’t deserve to be in a position that affects their future.
Being single with 4 kids doesn’t mean you area a good person(im not saying that she is not), it mean that you have had 4 kids and do not have a spouse. NOTHING in that statement has anything to do with the situation, so yes, I do still want Alan to win.
Hypocrisy runs DEEP in some of these posts.. I hope it all works out for the kids that have put all of their effort and the right attitude in this sport, they are what this is SUPPOSED to be about.
What I find interesting is the two parents named in this suit, Deloma Sauvao and Pua Spencer, have sons who play guard on the team. Please correct me if I am wrong, but there is a:
Kieran Spencer – G – 6’1 – 12th Grade
Aaron Spencer – G – 6’2 – 12th Grade
Codie Sauvao – G – 5’11 – 11th Grade
Are these the kids of the two parents being named in the suit? If so, why are only the parents of guards being sued and not other parents whose children play forward and/or center?
The perception by the look of this is that these two parents “could have” had an issue since the two Akina sons play the guard position that their sons also play.
And since the Akina boys plays guard and not forward/center, that possibly the other parents don’t have a horse in this race for playing time at the guard position. How interesting as more information comes out.
Allen Akina is good, fair, loyal and honest man. Parents need to let the kids be kids. This is there moment and they should be happy they have a coach that spend a lot of his personal time training this kids during the summer. All I gotta said that Kahuku is loosing a good coach. Allen is my friend and older brother.
Hahashandah January 12, 2016 at 11:47 am
Why didn’t Coach Akina seek legal counsel in the summer when he was told of this requirement? Why did he accept the job knowing these stipulations?
He wasn’t fired yet and possibly certain parents pissibly didn’t slander his name yet.
Coach Akina ofa atu Toko
@johnny.vindictive, Hypocrisy runs DEEP in some of these posts.. I hope it all works out for the kids that have put all of their effort and the right attitude in this sport, they are what this is SUPPOSED to be about.
I could be wrong. But my friends in the community tell me that a lot of these boys on the team concentrate on football and rarely if ever come out for off-season basketball. I also heard that Hiram often invites a lot of these kids to work out in the off-season and none of them take him up on the offer.
If many of these kids are unwilling to invest in this sport while many others around the island are, why do they feel their should be rewarded. Athletes all around the world train in the off-season.
Many parents in this community are butt-backwards.
Coaching is a one year contract job. If he disagreed with the stipulations (like reigning State Champ coach Alika Smith did with Kalaheo). He could have walked away and let someone else take on coaching his kids? That way you can remove any sense of bias or I guess nepotism in this case if there is such a thing in HS athletics.
My thoughts–even if the complaints were coming from the kids (whose parents were acting on their behalf)–unless
the coach was being abusive to players or having them risk injuries/academics, etc. it’s still not right.
A coach has to be the coach. Not all coaches are going to be perfect at judging talent or not play favorites. (We
see it all the time at all levels) However, having other people on the team or parents or administrators compromises
the team and causes more damage.
Let the coaches coach….
Both situations are completely different. At Kalaheo, since the school started using aspects of the Positive Coaching Alliance, and made a vague list for Coach Smith to follow, he felt it was unfair and chose to leave. This was done based on allegations of use of language among other things.
At Kahuku, the complaint was philosophy of coaching and potentially having his younger son on the team. The two are not the same.
Now in today’s day, it is clear that there are certain words you cannot use when coaching. It is clearly stated in most schools code of conduct for employees and/or the contract they sign. It is black and white and is clear.
Running plays for your children, having your child make the team, and how you run your team if it doesn’t have to do with swearing, threatening, or causing physical harm, isn’t black and white and almost everyone’s opinion will be different. It is not the same.
Why should he walk away if he feels he didn’t do anything wrong. And I have yet to see or hear of any evidence to prove differently.
Having a parent or kid say he is showing favoritism is not proof. It is an opinion. If this ever went to court the judge would throw it out for lack of proof.
These parents and kids need specific evidence. What specifically happened? What day did it happen? What time of the day did it happen? There is a thing called burden of proof. I have yet to see or hear anything yet.
managerr January 12, 2016 at 12:28 pm
My thoughts–even if the complaints were coming from the kids (whose parents were acting on their behalf)–unless
the coach was being abusive to players or having them risk injuries/academics, etc. it’s still not right.
A coach has to be the coach. Not all coaches are going to be perfect at judging talent or not play favorites. (We
see it all the time at all levels) However, having other people on the team or parents or administrators compromises
the team and causes more damage.
Let the coaches coach….
AMEN!!!
“Due to a boycott, apparently planned by some Red Raiders parents and aimed at having Akina removed, only five Kahuku players showed up for a Dec. 26 game at the Punahou tournament. On Dec. 29, after Akina was suspended following the Dec. 26 game and with an interim coach at the helm, all of Kahuku’s players were allowed to play, including those who boycotted, except for, the suit explains, Kawika Akina, who has played minimally in subsequent varsity games.”
If this is true then this is no class! Your school and team are offered an invitation to a basketball tournament based on good will and having the opportunity to have a competitive and fair basketball game.
Punahou invites the Kahuku Basketball team and matches them up against Maryknoll. Now boycotting this game wastes a game i the tournament since it isn’t competitive. The parents of Maryknoll who paid to watch their children compete and possibly took off from work or doing other things to watch a competitive game now are subjected to watch an undermanned team featuring 5 kids.
If you want to make a stand, do it on your own time. Boycott practice. Write a letter. Quit. But by affecting others (Punahou School & Maryknoll School), this act just shows such a lack of class.
What I don’t get is the action of the school AD and admin. A couple of parents complain and they take the parents’ side? Aren’t they the ones who hired coach Akina in the first place? Then when a couple parents complain, they throw him under the bus? To me the admin. and AD need to be looked at more so than the coach.
I think so far the results these past few games speak volumes. mckinley has beat Kahuku twice and they lost to Kaimuki. Akina son DNP in those games. The Spencer boys are not that good.
Fine point fan!
I’m gonna repeat myself again. ITS NEVER A GOOD IDEA TO COACH UR OWN SON, LET ALONE 2 SONS, IN HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL!!!! If you do, and you plan on playing them a lotta minutes, then ur sons better be better than the rest of the team every day in practice. If those 2 kids are the best, then play em all the minutes u want. But If they’re not, if they dont beat out their teammates, if they dont kick their teammates trash every day in practice, then you will never have a team believe in you as a coach. They won’t buy in, they will tune u out, n u won’t have a team. This looks poor in the school, their leadership from the top on down to the coach. Obviously the communication was terrible or it wouldn’t have gotten this far. The boys should be enjoying their time playing basketball for the school. The coaches job is to facilitate that goal n help them compete. The parents job is to support their kids and the coaches. Its gotta be harmonious. If one of these are off balance, the team won’t be successful. I dont get why coaches take these sort of things so serious. If Hawaii was putting out top Division 1 basketball players, I can see coaches trying to be serious n win at all costs to facilitate kids going on to college to be student athletes as basketball players. But that happens once every 10 years to kids here. Help the kids have a great experience and thats it people!!! Suing the school?? And naming people?? That’s pretty weak. I hope he gets his job back n they beat up everybody n win states. That’s a story!!! This is just crap
Well the team is not being successful the way it is now. Losing to Kaimuki and McKinley OMG!
I think it’s hard to compare the team Akina HAD to what he may have if he returns. His boys are pretty good but they got smashed by 30-40 points against Maryknoll. That’s the team that he comes back with if he returns this season.
I say cancel the rest of the season and then open the position and see if someone else who isn’t emotionally tied to the team is interested in coaching.
@Education First.. I believe you may have mis-understood my comment. The hypocrisy I was speaking of is that of people “saying” that you should know the full story, when it is obvious they, themselves do not. YOUR point is absolutely valid and I agree 100%
Why do we have a athletic director that know nothing about how handle this situation in private… The principal over sees the whole school and the athletic director over sees all sports.. She should be trained and have alot of experience for this type of situation.. So WHY IS SHE STILL THE ATHLETICS DIRECTOR…
2. As for the coach, Alot of parents thinks he got one job and that’s coach.. Well… Get off your butts and apply for the coaching jobs and see what he has to deal with.. All Kahuku coaches go through this.. I feel for this coach and what he is going through. The Athletic Director did him wrong and should have solve this problem with the team and only the coach (where the coach and his team can come to a understand together). NO PARENTS ALLOWED.. That’s how you become stronger as a team.. SO FIRE THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, SHE IS TO BLAME FOR BOTH SIDES.. COME ON THAT COMMON SENSE IN SPORTS…
3. As for coaching your son in a sport, I feel that if your son went to try outs and made the team fairly, then he deserves to play and I’m sure there are others on his coaching staff that feel the same. If not, his whole coaching staff would have said otherwise.. He deserves to coach his son, look at Reggie torres, he coached his son, and some parents complained, but when they won states and all is forgiving..COME ON PARENTS…Smdh… Look at coach Livai, he coached his son and they won states, nobody complains… Typical… Everyone complains, jus do it in the comfort of your own home and support your son or daughter 100 percent…
4. I’m a single father of two that goes to Kahuku high school and support my kids regardless if they start or not.. I’m there at every game, if my kids play, at least they know I’m there no matter what… BUT I DON’T COMPLAIN..IT’S CALLED SUPPORT…TO SUPPORT YOUR KIDS, IT MEANS CHEERING ON THE TEAM AND COACHES.. THERE NO “I” IN TEAM…IF YOU FEEL THAT YOUR KID IS A ALL STAR, TAKE THEM TO HIGH SCHOOL WHO NEVER WON ONE A GAME IN THERE WHOLE HIGH SCHOOL CAREER. YOUR KID CAN HAVE ALL THE PLAYING TIME IN THE WORLD… SO LETS BE HUMBLE AND WAIT FOR THE OUTCOME..
I’m all for the coach.. LET HIM COACH AND FIRE THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR. ..
I’M A SINGLE PARENT AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE….
Dec. 26 game and with an interim coach at the helm, all of Kahuku’s players were allowed to play, including those who boycotted, except for, the suit explains, Kawika Akina, who has played minimally in subsequent varsity games.
Is coach Akina complaining that the new or interim coach is not playing his kid enough. I think I heard this one before. Hello irony.
Shouldnt it be the interim coaches decision or is he alleging that there was a stipulation given to the interim coach? Given him mentioning his younger sons playing time I have to imagine that Akina felt his two sons were going to be all-stars this year.
The judicial system is set up to protect your good name. If the suit lacks evidence or isn’t credible the a judge can throw it out.
I do not think it is weak at all if someone is spreading lies about you, especially if it could hurt your career and future earnings.
Wait that last part was not nice. I meant to say that he felt they would be big time contributors to the team.
Can anyone tell me what Hahashandah just wrote? I only speak one language, and that’s English. I think that is a Foreign Language, maybe Tok Pisin, Chamicuro, Faroese, or Frisian. That definitely is not English. HELP!
Hahashandah – I think you hit it right on the nail! It was a stipulation to the coach that he not give Kawika playing time by the 2 mothers. Isnt the Assistant coach the aunty of one of the players?
The Truth are you an Akina? Just wondering.
No, I am your daddy! I am ashamed of you for attacking a fine man!
So sad that RED RAIDERS NATION has this plague about pointing fingers and name calling?!?
Not the first time yet this time it’s getting the justice system involve and I say you people better clean up your act cause this will sure continue regardless the AD or Coach being replaced and like this will never happen in individual sports competition like only in team sports we have this ugly and unhealthyness.
If Allen’s this year basketball players were of Championship caliber and the outcome was to take home the trophy, then this would be a much different case of parenthoodlums but you’ll still have some rattie squeak in the background no matter;…people of RED RAIDERS NATION you all talk about winning Championship but some of you no brainers are not championship fans more like fan.a.tics supporters; best wishes to Allen no matter what the outcome is and the bottomline advice is when you coach at Kahuku, you must always win championship or else end up as a free agent coach?
Yep deliberately I spelled ALLEN instead of ALAN just for all you finger pointing and name calling English major wannabees;…enjoy OK.