[UH FOOTBALL]
2 UH players
face suspensionThree athletes got suspensions
for a fight in February; one
of them has been reinstated
Two University of Hawaii football players, a starter and an oft-used reserve, might miss the upcoming season in connection with a fight on campus in February, several sources said.
After a hearing last month, a UH discipline committee recommended that running back Michael Bass, offensive lineman Brandon Eaton and defensive back Ray Bass be suspended from school for the fall semester, pending appeal.
Ray Bass, however, has since been reinstated to school and the team, said Rickey Bass, the father of Ray and Michael.
"I'm not getting much information, but I know Ray's been cleared. We're still waiting on Mike, we haven't heard anything on Mike yet," Rickey Bass said by telephone yesterday from the family home in Corona, Calif.
University officials cited privacy issues when asked for other details, but UH spokeswoman Carolyn Tanaka made the following statement yesterday:
"We can confirm there was an incident in the dorms in February that was deemed in violation of the student conduct code," Tanaka said. "The university has investigated and is in the disciplinary process. The disciplinary process is not completed yet."
Tanaka said she did not know when it would be finished. UH football coaches also said they did not know when decisions would be made on the other two appeals.
UH athletic director Herman Frazier referred questions to upper campus. Coach June Jones did not comment.
Several sources said the fight in February involved people who were not students but came to campus. At least one person was injured severely enough to require surgery. No arrests were made.
Rickey Bass said he was told "there's a fighting club of locals that's harassing them (UH football players from the mainland)."
Other sources said some of the men who fought with the players wore "808 Fight Factory" logo T-shirts. "808 Fight Factory" is an Oahu-based mixed martial arts school.
"808 Fight Factory" owner Kai Kamaka said he told investigators his students were not involved.
"Our group has nothing to do with it," Kamaka said in a phone interview yesterday. "Our T-shirts are very popular, we sell about six or seven dozen every show. There have been a lot of incidents like that we get tied to because of the shirts. But any guy on our team who initiates a street fight and we know about it, they're out."
The Bass brothers, going into their fourth and second years at UH, and Eaton going into his fourth, have never created or been a part of any prior discipline problems, their coaches said.
Rickey Bass said his sons had not been involved in any fights before the February incident.
"Never. This is the first. And the only thing I can say is I know they were defending themselves," he said.
Ray Bass, a freshman defensive back who redshirted last year, quit the team briefly late last season, but has since returned to the Warriors. He is expected to compete for significant playing time this fall.
Michael Bass would be a fourth-year senior in the fall. He has played in 33 games, starting 11. Bass has rushed 213 times for 1,217 yards and seven touchdowns in his three seasons.
If Michael Bass misses the season, it hurts UH's depth at running back, especially if West Keli'ikipi is not reinstated. Keli'ikipi was suspended last month in the wake of a felony second-degree theft charge and what is expected to be a lengthy trial is scheduled to start in July. His attorney is trying to arrange a deferred plea that might get Keli'ikipi back on the team in time for the season opener in September.
Eaton would be a fourth-year junior this season. He redshirted as a freshman in 2001, played in four games as a backup in 2002, and started nine of the 12 games he played at right tackle last fall, including the last five.
None of the players were available for comment.
One source close to the team said he thinks the three were lured into a fight.
"There are non-students involved, and the players are the only ones being punished," he said. "It takes two to tango, and these guys aren't troublemakers but if you push them too far they won't back down."
