It rained throughout the University of Hawaii football team’s first practice of spring training on Tuesday. The storm hit afterward.

In a thunderous outburst, head coach Norm Chow abruptly canceled post-practice interview sessions in response to Honolulu Star-Advertiser columnist Dave Reardon’s presence.

Tuesday afternoon, Chow apologized for causing a distraction.

"I’m extremely sorry that my actions this morning deflected attention away from a very good beginning to spring practice," Chow said in statement released through the school. "Going forward, the focus will continue to be on our football team and the hard work they are putting in to prepare for the 2014 season."

Chow and Reardon have agreed to meet Wednesday.

Television reporters were interviewing quarterback Taylor Graham when Chow yelled that Reardon was not welcomed at the practice. Tuesday’s morning’s practice, unlike practices during the regular season, was open to the public.

Through UH media relations director Derek Inouchi, Reardon was told Chow would not participate in post-practice interviews in the columnist’s presence. Post-practice interviews are conducted on the practice field.

Reardon said he was prepared to leave the grass practice field when Chow began yelling, "You’re not welcome here, sir." Chow then ordered a halt to the media’s interviews with players and assistant coaches. Graham, who was about to answer a question from television reporters, apologized and then joined teammates in sprinting off the field.

Later, Chow told the Star-Advertiser he was angry over a January column questioning Kevin Clune’s hiring as defensive coordinator. Chow said the column was "disrespectful" to Clune and jeopardized his relationship with players.

Reardon, whose duties for the newspaper are to provide opinion pieces, had attended Clune’s introductory news conference a week after the column was published without incident. Tuesday morning was the first face-to-face encounter between Chow and Reardon this year.

Out of respect for media cohorts, Reardon said he was willing to leave the field when the outburst occurred. Reardon said he did not want to be the reason other reporters could not do their stories.

This is the second time Chow has feuded with a media entity. In July 2012, Chow was angered when Hawaii News Now reported quarterback Sean Schroeder was transferring from Duke to UH.

Chow had said the report was premature and jeopardized Schroeder’s chances of gaining special admission into UH’s graduate school. Because Schroeder was seeking to enroll after the admissions deadline, he needed a special waiver from school officials. Schroeder eventually received that exemption. He was named the Rainbow Warriors’ starting quarterback that year.

Chow did not participate in one-on-one interviews with Hawaii News Now for most of the 2012 season, his first as UH head coach. Chow spoke at group interviews, and allowed his coaches and players to speak with the news station.