Punahou Fires One Coach, Suspends Another For Wresting Brawl
HONOLULU (AP) – Punahou School has suspended its head wrestling coach and fired an assistant after a student wrestler suffered a bloody nose and cut lip in a “Brawl Day “training exercise.
School spokeswoman Laurel Bowers Husain says head coach Matt Oney was suspended for two weeks but will continue teaching math.
The school did not name the assistant coach involved, but attorney David Gierlach, who said he represents the student’s family, identified the assistant coach as Kena Heffernan.
Heffernan was removed from his coaching duties but will continue to teach at Punahou’s middle school.
Gierlach says the “Brawl Day “pitted coaches and student wrestlers in “no-holds-barred “competitions.
Husain says the intent was to help the athletes “handle themselves safely during a tough wrestling match.”
But Husain says the school will no longer conduct the “Brawl Day “exercise.
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