A Hawaii football parent was officially found guilty of assaulting his son’s high school football coach and could face either five or 10 years in prison.
As previously covered here at USA TODAY High School Sports, Greg Tartamella, the father of a Kaiser High School (Honolulu, Hi.) football player, was charged and sent to trial for allegedly assaulting then-Kaiser coach Arnold Martinez.
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Late Friday, the verdict came in, and Tartamella is now officially in a lot of trouble.
As reported by Hawaii ABC affiliate KITV, among other outlets, Tartamella was found guilty of second-degree assault, two counts of harassment, and first-degree terroristic threatening. The assault and terroristic threatening charges both bring jail sentences of up to five years in prison.
While it’s may be unlikely for Tartamella to land a sentence of 10 years, nothing will be off the table when he is sentenced in early May.
According to KITV, the star witness in the case was former Kaiser football player Diego Tafao, who testified that the coach and Tartamella engaged in a verbal altercation.
There has been no word yet about any appeal, though the potential duration of a Tartamella prison sentence may very well inspire one. Either way, the conviction sets a precedent in Hawaii and stands out as a touchpoint for coaches nationwide who struggle with ever-rising antagonism from the parents of players who feel underappreciated.
