A disturbing incident happened at a high school football game in Texas over the weekend. John Jay High School was playing Marble Falls, 90 miles from San Antonio. Marble Falls won 15-9. They were trying to secure the 15-9 win. All they needed was a first down. As the ball was snapped, a John Jay defensive back hit the back judge. The referee was doing his job, watching the play from behind the defensive line. He fell onto the ground. A teammate lowered his helmet and drove it into the referee after he had fallen down. Both of these athletes were ejected and it gave Marble Falls a first down. This was after two other players from the same team had been kicked out earlier. Marble Falls went on to run the clock out for the victory. The two players were suspended from the team and the school. Is that enough?
The referee who was not named could press criminal charges. ESPN quoted Austin Football Officials Association secretary Wayne Elliot saying, “The first thing we want is that those two kids never play football again.” Elliot has sort of gotten his wish since the players are suspended from the team and school. These kids shouldn’t be able to play again. What they did was so unsportsmanlike. According to ESPN, District Spokesman Pascual Gonzalez said, “It is not the good sportsmanlike behavior that we teach students.” ABCnews.com said that Marble Falls Head Coach Matt Green stated, “I’ve coached 14 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
This seemed to be a hard fought game since the winning team only won by 6. Why in the world would players do this? They might have been frustrated they weren’t getting the calls but still should have played with a competitive spirit and respect the officials until the end. The question remains is did the coach have anything to do with the actions of these two players? These competitors might not have done this on their own. If the coach told them to hit the referee he should lose his job. If they did it on their own, the referee should press charges. The referee is lucky not to have sustained major injuries. There is no tolerance for this unacceptable behavior.
What should happen to the two athletes that went after the referee?
Bottom of the pond scum! Lowest of the low. Further reflection of a growing sociatal attitude reflecting lack of respect for authority figures and law enforcement. Let the courts take care of these gutless wonders and then total disbarment from any organized sports …. obviously no college scholarships and thusly no shot at pros. A total disgrace. And, this is not a simple case of boys will be boys
Group behavior that slides into violence is not new, and needs the attention of the adults who are supposed to be assisting these kids to develop appropriate behaviors as athletes. What a sad and disappointing outcome to a high school sporting event.