Tuesday, September 29, 1998

Pariante says he wants
to dispel the notion that the
school puts football first

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

Imagine no more football this year.

That's what Father Mario Pariante, St. Louis School president, was telling players he interviewed yesterday.

"If we do not get to the truth in this matter, the possible consequence is cancellation of the rest of the season for St. Louis," said Pariante on the first day of his investigation into a scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic school.

Members of the nationally ranked St. Louis team trashed rooms in a drunken postgame party at a Las Vegas hotel in the wee hours of Sept. 6, according to the hotel's security chief and the housekeeping director.

There also have been several reports that players pooled their resources to hire strippers and bring them into the hotel.

While there are those who believe St. Louis has become a "football factory," placing the sport above all educational issues, Pariante said he plans to eradicate that image this week. He said he will continue the exhaustive process of interviewing players individually in his office until the pieces of the puzzle come together.

"We will have a press conference to announce our findings later this week, possibly Thursday," he said.

Pariante repeated what he said after Friday night's rout of Iolani (54-19), that coaches are also being checked out.

"We will not hesitate to dismiss any coach who helped players obtain alcohol or hire strippers," he said.

And Pariante said that if he finds that a St. Louis alumnus living in the Las Vegas area was involved, he will turn that person's name over to the Las Vegas police.

Detective Roberto Juarez of the Las Vegas Police Department's juvenile division said that if his officers had been called to the hotel, and events transpired as hotel security described to the Star-Bulletin, there would have been arrests.

"We might have called out our juvenile team to handle it," he said.

Juarez said players could have been taken into custody for being disorderly persons, coaches or chaperones could have been arrested for contributing to the delinquency of minors, and any strippers could have been arrested for performing lewd acts in the presence of minors.

He said it was unlikely players could have obtained the services of strippers without the aid of an adult because almost every service listed in the phone book or newspaper requires credit card confirmation.

Reaction to the events in Las Vegas has not been limited to Oahu.

One of St. Louis' most accomplished football alumni, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, expressed both outrage and despair in an emotional telephone interview from his home in Pittsburgh.

"That bothers me -- it's unreal," said Fuamatu-Ma'afala, a lifelong teetotaler and nonsmoker.

"Alcohol and women? That's way out of line. I think they have to pay the price for their actions. There should've been better leadership on the team," he said.

Richard Townsend, football coordinator for the Oahu Interscholastic Association, said, "My question is, where were the coaches?" The OIA represents 21 public high school football programs on Oahu.

There were 25 supervisors -- coaches and parent chaperones -- accompanying the St. Louis players.

Head coach Cal Lee told the Star-Bulletin that he left the hotel at 2:30 a.m. and went to the main casino district. He said he asked security to keep an eye on things.

Lee said he returned to the hotel just before 6 a.m., when it was time for the team to board transportation to the airport.

Clay Benham, executive secretary for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, of which St. Louis is a member school, said he plans to take no action against the team within the league structure.

"No, because it was entirely a school activity (the Las Vegas trip)," he said. "We have no jurisdiction over preseason trips."

Benham said the incident has not shaken his faith in Lee, who is the coordinator for all ILH football activities.

"There are so many factors involved," Benham said. "I feel sorry for him. Perhaps he should have had more supervision."

Mohamed Hakim, assistant manager of the 7-Eleven store where hotel security theorized players might have obtained alcohol through an adult buyer, said no St. Louis athlete approached him to purchase liquor or cigarettes.

"But it is very easy to find some adult to buy it for you," Hakim said. "This is the worst part of town."

"The players came in a lot to buy things while they were here," Hakim said. "They were well-behaved when I saw them -- a lot more polite than the kids around Las Vegas. But we were surprised to see all these young people staying out here. There are nicer places on The Strip."

Detective Juarez agreed, adding, "I would've placed the kids in a better environment."