Yelm High School first-year head football coach Tutu Tamaalevea has been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately, due to what the school’s administration described as an “isolated incident” reported to administrative staff.
The administration’s decision was sent to families via FinalForms and was acquired by the Thurston Chronicle Monday evening. It is unknown at this time when the reported incident occurred and when the decision was made.
This comes just four days before Yelm’s football team faces Heritage in its home opener Friday night. It is unknown who the interim head coach will be in place of Tamaalevea for that game, and the duration of his administrative leave was not made clear in the message to families.
“We sincerely thank the rest of the coaching staff for stepping up and continuing to support our students and athletes,” reads the message, signed by YHS administration. “The safety and well-being of our student athletes is our highest priority. Thank you for your understanding and continued support.”
YHS athletic department staff and Yelm Community Schools (YCS) have been contacted for further comment. YCS Superintendent Christopher Woods confirmed there is an “ongoing investigation” but was unable to comment further.
Tamaalevea told the Thurston Chronicle Tuesday that he is also unable to comment on the matter until the investigation is complete, which he estimated could take two to three days.
Tamaalevea was hired as the new head football coach at Yelm in May after a lengthy coaching career at the semi-professional level. He was expected to call offensive plays for the Tornados. He replaced Rex Norris, who stepped down after one season in Yelm.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
