HONOLULU — The roar of applause and appreciation from the Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 8,688 Saturday night was more than loud enough, and it spoke volumes about Falaniko and Al Noga’s place in University of Hawaii sports history.
At halftime of the UH men’s basketball game vs. Cal State Fullerton, when the huge scoreboard video screen flashed photos and highlights of the Noga brothers in action, the arena came alive as if everyone was back among the 1980s Aloha Stadium crowds of 45,000-plus, cheering in pleasured amazement as each “No. 54” wreaked havoc on opposing backfields.
Without question, Falaniko and Al Noga are among the greatest football players ever to wear a Hawaii uniform, and made among the biggest impacts of any UH athlete in any sport throughout the school’s illustrious history.
The question — raised during a selection committee meeting and then immediately afterward when they were chosen — was whether the Noga brothers’ off-field transgressions should disqualify them from induction into the UH Circle of Honor.
The answer here, at least, is no.
The question was raised because of a Circle of Honor bylaw that states that a “nominee must exhibit strong moral character and discipline.” Al Noga has a criminal record that includes time served (six months) for misdemeanor charges including abuse of a family member and assault.
Both Noga brothers were associated with off-field roughhousing around Honolulu back in the 1980s, and there were other more minor embarrassing behaviors in public that were … well, unbecoming of a respectful UH athlete.
Certainly, neither brother was ever a candidate for sainthood.
But at the same time, there also were off-field good deeds done by each that never got much media attention, as well.
In 1987, the year after Al Noga became the school’s first (and to date, only) AP First-Team All-American, a grateful non-athlete wrote in to the campus newspaper to share a story about how he was walking his flat-tire bicycle up a steep hill when All-American Noga — a total stranger — pulled his car over and gave him a ride.
While in the NFL, the Noga brothers returned home to Kalihi to organize a youth football clinic and wanted to charge only $1 per child, so that anybody could afford to participate. Having grown up in Kalihi Valley’s rough-and-tumble “Kam IV” public housing project themselves, they knew traditional clinics that charged hundreds of dollars were not accessible to everyone.
Al Noga returned to UH after seven years in the NFL to finish his bachelor’s degree, and has done graduate work toward a master’s degree. He’s had plans to open a day care center for former NFL players suffering from long-term effects of football-related injuries.
Al Noga has volunteered his time to help the current UH team, and has expressed remorse for past mistakes and appears to be genuinely sincere in wanting to be a model citizen and alumnus going forward.
Since 2010, Niko Noga has organized and operated a Passing Flag Football League for youth in American Samoa.
The fact that their former UH head coaches, Dick Tomey and Bob Wagner — two Circle of Honor members themselves — showed up to offer nothing but praise at their induction, is testament that they are proud to have coached and be associated with the Noga brothers.
Like the overwhelming Stan Sheriff Center ovation Saturday, Tomey’s and Wagner’s endorsement and support spoke volumes, as did the Noga brothers’ display of humility and appreciation upon being inducted.
Induction into the UH Circle of Honor is the ultimate symbol of recognition for outstanding former Rainbow athletes or coaches or contributors — it is a prestigious and distinguished group that certainly should be held to high standards, both on the field of play and off.
But is also is not sainthood.
Nominees no doubt should be scrutinized, and consideration for their induction should be taken in totality — weighing all factors and not just fixating on one, whether positive or negative.
When looking at the totality of the Noga brothers’ qualifications, the easy-to-see positives of their on-field achievements vs. the disturbing-but-forgivable off-field transgressions, the overall sentiment should be that they belong in the Circle of Honor.
Past mistakes and immature, uncivil behavior appear to be just that — in their past. Their ultimate legacy will be as two of the greatest athletes in University of Hawaii history.
As it should be.