Late in the fourth quarter, a brawl behind the Rainbows' bench area threatened the safety of Freitas' family. The senior quarterback reacted by racing several rows into the stands before being escorted out minutes later by a Honolulu policeman.
"I want to apologize to the fans and whoever got sprayed with the mace (pepper spray) during that game," Freitas said. "My family is really sorry for what happened.
"They just want it to be squashed and want me to play in my last game (two weeks from now against Wisconsin). I just saw a small incident going on and it caught my attraction.
"When I looked up there, I saw the cops spraying mace, and then I saw my mom and my girlfriend, closing and washing their eyes. That's what made me go up there. I think I did the right thing.
"My family is the most important thing to me in this whole world. Once family gets involved, I felt like I needed to be up there and see if they were all right or injured. If the same thing happened, I would do it again."
UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida will likely decide today whether he agrees with Freitas' assessment of the unfortunate situation.
He was unable to reach any conclusions late yesterday evening because a key police report of an eyewitness off-duty officer had yet to be filed.
Preliminary police reports suggest that Freitas and UH teammate Quincy Jacobs may have had more to do with the series of events than originally reported.
Yoshida wouldn't comment on that possibility until seeing the report, meeting with Freitas and Jacobs, and then discussing his decision with UH head coach Fred vonAppen and Dean of Students Alan Yang.
It's possible both athletes will be suspended until the investigation is completed, based on violations of the Hawaii student-athlete conduct code.
Jacobs already is serving a seven-month probation for his involvement in a fight with UH volleyball player Moses Goods a month ago.
VonAppen's wife, Thea, claimed Jacobs was serving more as a peacemaker and protector than an instigator, but he did leave the field and enter the stands, something vonAppen and Yoshida frowned upon.
The Stanford University transfer was told by Yoshida not to be involved in any altercations until the end of the school year. Even if he was just trying to break up the brawl, Jacobs' status at Hawaii is tenuous at best.
When asked before yesterday's practice what his thoughts were on the subject, he replied, "A big no comment."
Yoshida and vonAppen took similar approaches, but agreed the national publicity this story has generated - footage was shown on ESPN and CNN, while stories appeared in the New York Post and USA Today - was definitely harmful.
"It can't really help us in recruiting," vonAppen said. "I'm not really at liberty to discuss the matter until our athletic director is ready to make a decision.
"As I've said, this kind of thing has no place in collegiate athletics. We can't tolerate it. It's an unfortunate incident for all concerned."
Yoshida said he hoped to have the police report in hand today. He has met with vonAppen, but hasn't talked with Freitas or Jacobs about the matter.
"There are several different accounts out there as to what happened," Yoshida said. "I've heard a preliminary report, but I don't want to comment until I've read the report and talked with the policeman who said he saw it from beginning to end.
"That's what makes it tough because all the television accounts I've seen are after the fact. I don't know who or what started it.
"We are conducting a thorough investigation into the incidents that took place in the stands behind our bench. We plan to talk with Aloha Stadium personnel, the police, our coaches and the players involved before reaching a decision."