Two San Antonio area football players were in huge trouble a few years ago after intentionally targeting and hitting an official at the end of their game on under the Friday night lights.
Marble Falls High School defeated John Jay High School 15-9, but that is not what anyone is talking about after the game. The big news is that two John Jay players appeared to intentionally target an official after an alleged bad call, with the two laying huge, blindsided hits on the referee. The worst part? They did so at the direction of a coach.
According to MySanAntonio.com, both players were ejected and the incident was under investigation by the local athletic boards. The students were suspended from school, as well as the team. Northside ISD athletic director Stan Laing called the video "very disturbing."
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What a terrible display of sportsmanship. Bad calls happen regularly in sports, but I cannot say that I have ever seen anyone attempt to obliterate the official in retaliation. Two players were ejected from the game prior to this play, too.
The players didn't act on their own, however. According to Statesman.com, former John Jay assistant coach Mack Breed was the coach to blame. While he denied the allegation that he told players to hit the referee, he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge in court. The school principal also came forward and said Breed told him he "directed the student to hit the referee because the referee had used racial slurs and had missed calls," per Statesman.com.
As for the referee, Robert Watts, he denied using racial slurs but admitted he had a concussion after the vicious hits.
If you ask me, everyone here is in the wrong. But for a coach to direct his players to do such a nasty thing? That's just despicable.
This post was originally published on September 6, 2015. We brought it back as a reminder of that sportsmanship matters.
