HONOLULU (KHON2) — The fate of former Kahuku head coach Sterling Carvalho is now in a judge’s hands. He needs to rule on an injunction that could get Carvalho on the sidelines immediately. If not, it could be a while before he gets to coach again.
Carvalho says even though he never signed a contract with Kahuku to be its head coach in the fall, he was working towards it after his annual evaluation in January.
“And when you left that meeting, was it your expectation that you were gonna be hired to coach this coming 2025 season? That’s been the practice since 2019 my first rehiring,” said Carvalho.
However, Department of Education Complex Area Superintendent Sam Izumi made the decision to terminate Carvalho as the Red Raiders’ head coach in March.
A letter from the DOE to Carvalho says an investigation found that he created a hostile environment towards former player Manoa Hallums in 2023. The investigation started because Hallums’ father made a social media post criticizing Carvalho. Carvalho met Hallums in private, which Carvalho says he’s done in the past.
“Basically I said it was brought to my attention, that there were people out there that wanted to retaliate and we said no, anything that the dad did, shouldn’t fall upon him and he shouldn’t have to deal with that,” said Carvalho.
“I was concerned that there was no reflection, no remorse and no consideration for how the conversation between Coach Sterling and Manoa was perceived by Manoa and how it made him feel,” said Samuel Izumi, DOE Complex Area Superintendent Castle/Kahuku.
Testimony is done. Judge Jordan Kimura is waiting for additional paperwork before making a ruling. If the case goes to trial, Carvalho’s attorney says it could be years before he gets back on the sidelines.
“My hope is that somebody in the DOE will come to their senses,” said Eric Seitz, Carvalho’s attorney. “I don’t have a lot of hope for that because I don’t understand how they took this action in the first place.”
Despite the situation, Carvalho says there isn’t much he would do differently.
“I took him under my wing, as I do with all my players previously, as a Coach, to make sure he was fine at that time because of this incident,” said Carvalho. “So you wouldn’t change a thing? To talk to a player and tell him how much I love him and care for him, I would not change it. That’s what I do with my players.”