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Sidelines
Kalani Simpson
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It’s doubtful UH’s Frazier knowingly discriminated
SO now Herman Frazier -- along with the University of Hawaii as a whole -- has been sued. Now, being sued does not necessarily mean anything. Pretty much what it means is that somebody got a lawyer.
But generally speaking, it ain't good.
However -- and this is just an uneducated guess, I'm not a lawyer (I'm a doctor) -- I would be stunned if anything came out of this to hurt Frazier or UH.
I haven't been able to get a hold of the plaintiff, Rainbow Wahine track and cross country coach Carmyn James (she filed in circuit court last week for gender discrimination). And Frazier has refused comment until he's looked at the suit, and at last check he still hadn't.
(Yes, it's been several days. It's a brilliant strategy. You never have to address it. Just don't look at it.)
So this is just my outsider insight here. But here is the thing. I can see Frazier making a lot of mistakes, mainly because he has made a lot of mistakes. But I can't see him making this one.
I just can't imagine he would be dumb enough to discriminate in this way. I just don't see it. And another thing, I don't think it's in his character, either.
Now, calm down. You could imagine him screwing up. OK. Yes, Frazier has done his share of less-than-brilliant things in his time at UH. Lord, yes. But these are the sort of rules and regulations he eats for breakfast. This kind of thing is right in his wheelhouse. This is what he did as an assistant AD for decades.
I can't see him making that mistake.
James is a person I really like. Out of all the coaches, she is the most fun. She is a lightning bolt of positive energy. She's been a great fit for that job.
I agree with her that her program probably does not get the support it deserves. I'm sure that's particularly galling given that Frazier is a track man. It's particularly galling given that UH just threw a dinner celebrating Title IX.
But ... OK, how to put this delicately. Off the record, there seems to be a common theme when it comes to a lot of UH coaches and the way they feel about their boss. Regardless of their gender.
That doesn't sound like discrimination. That just sounds like the way it is. (How many lapsed contracts and ridiculous one-year deals have you heard of?)
And when you're a nonrevenue sport at a mid-major school, the job is not necessarily to win conference titles. The job is often to do as well as you can within the big-picture limitations while balancing the Title IX numbers and not creating too many headaches.
As we saw with former UH swimming coach Mike Anderson. Anderson had the program pointed toward greatness, but he was a pain in the okole. His contract wasn't renewed. And he was replaced by a nice man with ties to Arizona State.
I hope the same thing doesn't happen to one of my favorite coaches, Carmyn James, when all of this finally shakes out.
» HAKA TALK -- a mini mailbag:
Keith says, "No body (sic) wants to read your opinions, stop writing about crap, don't you have anything else to do?"
Mel says, "Right on. Frightening to see how shallow some people's perception of cultural respect really is. The bottom line is, they wouldn't be doing it if it didn't look 'cool.' "