The University of Hawaii did what it was required to do in dismissing football star Kennedy Tulimasealii, but it didn’t do all that it should have done in explaining it.

In a statement said to have been several days in the crafting and circulated at high levels before it was distributed Monday, UH pretty much let its Student Athlete Conduct Code speak for the school when it could — and should — have been more declarative about its abiding principles.

Nowhere in its 112 well-chosen words did UH take the opportunity to make a strong statement on domestic issues like the ones alleged to have been involved in the incidents that led to Tulimasealii pleading no contest two weeks ago to six criminal charges resulting from four incidents involving his 20-year-old former girlfriend.

Nowhere in the school’s afternoon press release was there a firm sense of where UH stands on one of the compelling issues of the day.

In its release, UH said, “Defensive lineman Kennedy Tulimasealii has been dismissed from the University of Hawaii football team for violating the UH student-athlete conduct code. The code states that ‘any student-athlete convicted of or pleading guilty or no contest to a felony charge shall be permanently dismissed from the team.’ In regards to his scholarship, the code states ‘the grant-in-aid shall not be renewed for any successive academic years.’ An appeal process is available. …”

Intended or not, it comes off sounding a lot like, “Well, the book said we had to do it, so that’s what we did.”

Once Tulimasealii pleaded no contest to all charges — including one Class C felony for property damage — anybody familiar with the code or recent events across the athletic landscape, college or pro, wouldn’t have had much doubt how this chapter was going to play out.

But the statement that accompanied UH’s action gave the impression more of officials hiding behind the handbook than standing strongly on principle and speaking forcefully from the heart.

And that’s regrettable, because here was an opportunity for UH, in speaking to the wider community, not just its athletes, to be affirmative in an area where it hasn’t always spoken with clarity and purpose.

At the bottom of its statement, UH noted, “We hope that Kennedy will continue his college education and work toward receiving his degree. He will always be a part of the Rainbow Warrior ʻohana and we hope that his recent troubles do not define his life.”

Anybody who has followed his career would hope for the best for him going forward. And that if a deferral is granted by the judge in August, the hope is that Tulimasealii is able to fulfill the terms of the deal as a start on that future.

But it would have also been appropriate for UH to underline its concern for victims of violence and its commitment to seeing that its players are well counseled.

UH did what it had to do, but it could have done so much more.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.