By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
ORINDA, Calif. - Darrell Hirashima has faced few desperate deficits over his 11 seasons as girls basketball coach at Miramonte.
But on Wednesday, with his coaching career at the school apparently done, he levied a full court press.
Hirashima filed a law suit against the Acalanes Union High School District School Board for violation of the Brown Act, failure to follow district paperwork procedures and denial of due process following his surprise dismissal in June.
That dismissal was apparently based on a parental complaint – one which Hirashima vehemently refutes – though he’s not clear that’s why he was let go. He wants to know why, thus he’s filed a complaint.
“It’s time to find out what’s really going on,” Hirashima said.
Said Hirashima’s attorney Kirk Boyd: “We just want this all out in the open. We want the complete truth to come out. That’s my goal with this law suit. Darrell has a right to hear and be heard about any accusations in a public hearing.”
The soft-spoken off-campus coach, who has won seven straight league and three of the last four North Coast Section titles, thought he had recaptured his job on July 1 following an outpouring of community support. See story.
On June 18, more than 100 parents, players and community members crammed into an Acalanes Unified School District governing board meeting and an overwhelming majority — all but one speaker — asked for his reinstatement.
Two weeks later, according to Hirashima, attorneys from the school district sent him a new contract to sign as long as he agreed to a number of contingencies.
Hirashima agreed to all but when he sent the contract back — within two weeks according to Boyd — the district said he had failed to meet their deadline and the offer was off the table.
“They just created a deadline date,” Boyd said. “There was no reason for it and they’re offer was insincere. It was a hoax.”
The vacant job has since been posted on Craig’s List and in local newspapers.
Boyd said he will seek a restraining order on such a hiring until Hirashima’s law suit is heard.
District policy traditionally restricts officials to comment on personnel matters. Calls to district superintendent Jim Negri and school district attorney Louis Leone were not immediately returned.
Hirashima, who has piled up a 238-85 record in 11 seasons, had taken a Zen approach when he received his one-sentence termination in June.
Maybe that’s because he’d been through this before. In 1999 parent complaints led to his dismissal but a large group of supporters helped get him reinstated just before the season.
It looked like history repeated itself until the July offer was taken off the table. Hirashima’s calm natured changed.
“I was outraged at first, then saddened” he said. “But I’ve made Orinda my home for more than 20 years. My kids went to school there. I don’t want to be run out of the community like this. Not by fanatics.
“For a few people to bring us down to their level is unconscionable. I’m ready to fight. I don’t want to give up.”
Boyd believes Hirashima was let go based totally on the parental complaint, which was based on negligence to supervise their daughter during the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix in Dec.
Hirashima denies he was negligent in any way.
Boyd said the district didn’t follow its own policy by not having the parents sign the complaint under oath.
“That’s understandable because they can’t possibly want to make that statement under oath because they aren’t telling the truth,” Boyd said. “They would be subject to perjury.
“One (the district) didn’t keep their word and give him his job back. Two, they didn’t follow their own requirements on the complaint form. And three, even if the complaint form was filled out correctly they had to give Darrell a chance to be heard in a public hearing.”
But what if Hirashima’s dismissal wasn’t about the complaint? Off-campus coaches have year-to-year contracts and can be let go for reasons as vague as “we want to move in another direction.”
“That’s why we want a public hearing to hear a reason,” Boyd said. “But if it’s not about the complaint why would you want to terminate a coach who has won seven championships in a row? Why would you do that?”
Hirashima has tried to answer that question himself. After much thought he said: “I have to think this is a personal vendetta. … At this point I just think the community who supports me and I have a right to know why they aren’t hiring me back as coach.”
Stay tuned for updates and more reaction. E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.