Damien football coach Eddie Klaneski and others in the school’s athletic department were relieved of their duties, the school announced Thursday. The moves were made in response to the COVID-19 health crisis.
The decision adds to the big question mark dangling in the COVID-19 air: Can Hawaii high school football be held this fall? Brother Brian Walsh, the school president, explained the reason.
“Given all the guidance that is being provided by authorities on the reopening of schools, all of which indicates a probable change in the number of teams that will be fielded, the length of each season and the presence or absence of spectators, it seemed in the best interest of all involved in our athletic program and of the school, to inform some coaches that at the present time a position is not available,” he wrote in a news release.
Damien is the second Hawaii high school to opt out of football for the 2020-21 school year. Mid-Pacific, which sends its players to play for the multi-school Pac-Five each year, decided last week that football and a few other sports were a no-go for 2020-21.
“Some coaches are also employed as full-time Damien Memorial staff members,” Walsh said. “School policy is that personnel decisions concerning full-time staff members are never discussed.”
Athletic director Rudy Alejo was also released, but is being retained as a full-time teacher. He has been at Damien since 1973.
Among the others let go were Alvin Stephenson, who coached the Monarchs to the 2020 Division II boys basketball state championship, the school’s first.
Damien is also without its girls volleyball coach, Don Faumuina, who retired after leading the Monarchs to the D-II state title last fall.
Letting go Klaneski, a former University of Hawaii football star, is another signal that football won’t be happening this fall in Hawaii or possibly anywhere in the nation. The Patriot League in college football announced it will not be flying its teams to competitions, which rules out Fordham’s game at Hawaii scheduled for Sept. 12.
Klaneski did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Bowdoin College in Maine canceled all of its fall sports, including football, on Monday.
Dallas Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott said the following about the hazards of the NFL returning too soon in a Fox article from Wednesday: “I just don’t know how they can keep the players healthy. You’ve got to put the health of the players first. We have to find a way to make sure the players and their families, and the coaches also and their families, aren’t put at risk.”
