Sure the ref calls drops a few N-bombs on them so they retaliate. The number of racists on this site is amazing.]
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Officials with a San Antonio school district say two football players accused of ramming into a referee during a high school game allege the referee directed racial slurs at them.
Northside Independent School District Superintendent Brian T. Woods says an assistant football coach accused of suggesting the students retaliate against the referee has been placed on leave.
Woods says the two suspended John Jay High School students will have a disciplinary hearing.
Woods also says the district will file a complaint about the racial slur allegation with the Texas Association of Sports Officials.
Michael Fitch, the association’s executive director, didn’t immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment.
The incident, captured on video, happened during a game Friday between John Jay and Marble Falls High School, north of San Antonio.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Officials with a San Antonio school district say two football players accused of ramming into a referee during a high school game allege the referee directed racial slurs at them.
Northside Independent School District Superintendent Brian T. Woods says an assistant football coach accused of suggesting the students retaliate against the referee has been placed on leave.
Woods says the two suspended John Jay High School students will have a disciplinary hearing.
Woods also says the district will file a complaint about the racial slur allegation with the Texas Association of Sports Officials.
Michael Fitch, the association’s executive director, didn’t immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment.
The incident, captured on video, happened during a game Friday between John Jay and Marble Falls High School, north of San Antonio.
The latest....
By JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press
ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) — The governing body for Texas high school sports questioned Wednesday whether the coaches of two football players accused of intentionally ramming a referee should have done more to calm emotions in a tense game.
The University Interscholastic League’s executive committee heard from local officials on their investigation into the incident involving San Antonio Jay High School. The organization is investigating several allegations, including that the hit was prompted by something an assistant coach said and was preceded by racial slurs from the targeted umpire.
The incident was caught on video and sparked national attention and reaction.
Two Jay High School players, who have not been identified, and assistant coach Mack Breed have been suspended by the Northside Independent School District pending the investigation.
“This has been an embarrassment for the school the UIL and the state of Texas,” said committee member James Colbert of Houston.
Dallas committee member Gil Garza, who used to work in San Antonio schools, noted reported tensions in the game between Jay and Marble Falls high schools, including punches thrown, late hits and ejections before the Jay players rammed umpire Robert Watts.
“The only thing our kids really have is our coaches. That’s where the leadership starts,” Garza told Northside officials, calling the out-of-control atmosphere “a time bomb waiting to happen. And it did.”
Garza also questioned whether the game officials could have done more to control the game.
Officials with Northside and the Texas Association of Sports Officials said they are still investigating the incident.
Brian Woods, Northside schools superintendent said he wasn’t aware of previous concerns about a culture of unsportsmanlike conduct at Jay.
“We don’t have any reason to believe the actions of those two young men are representative of that program or the student body of that school,” Woods said.
Woods said concerns about sportsmanship could be “applied both ways.” Marble Falls school officials attended the meeting but declined an offer to testify.
The Jay High School players, coaches and Watts did not attend the meeting. Watts’ attorney, Alan Goldberger of New Jersey, has denied Watts made racial remarks. Watts has been a game official for 14 years and was recently nominated for president of the Austin chapter of the Texas Association of Sports Officials.
Watts was not working with his regular crew at the game and was a fill-in for another official who couldn’t make it, said Michael Fitch, executive director of the officials association. Fitch said he’s still waiting for a complete report on the game from the crew.
The UIL said any state disciplinary action against the players or school won’t come before its next meeting Sept. 23.
The case has also has prompted a criminal investigation in Marble Falls, where the game was played about 90 miles north of San Antonio.
Video from the game showed the referee watching a play, and his head snapping back when he is leveled from behind and another player then dove on top of him. Northside school district officials have said that during the game, the suspended players “were feeling lots of frustration by what they perceived to be missed or wrong calls by the refs.” The players also alleged the referee directed racial slurs at them.
The students allege that assistant coach Mack Breed, 29, said “that guy needs to pay for cheating us” or words to that effect, according to the district.
By JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press
ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) — The governing body for Texas high school sports questioned Wednesday whether the coaches of two football players accused of intentionally ramming a referee should have done more to calm emotions in a tense game.
The University Interscholastic League’s executive committee heard from local officials on their investigation into the incident involving San Antonio Jay High School. The organization is investigating several allegations, including that the hit was prompted by something an assistant coach said and was preceded by racial slurs from the targeted umpire.
The incident was caught on video and sparked national attention and reaction.
Two Jay High School players, who have not been identified, and assistant coach Mack Breed have been suspended by the Northside Independent School District pending the investigation.
“This has been an embarrassment for the school the UIL and the state of Texas,” said committee member James Colbert of Houston.
Dallas committee member Gil Garza, who used to work in San Antonio schools, noted reported tensions in the game between Jay and Marble Falls high schools, including punches thrown, late hits and ejections before the Jay players rammed umpire Robert Watts.
“The only thing our kids really have is our coaches. That’s where the leadership starts,” Garza told Northside officials, calling the out-of-control atmosphere “a time bomb waiting to happen. And it did.”
Garza also questioned whether the game officials could have done more to control the game.
Officials with Northside and the Texas Association of Sports Officials said they are still investigating the incident.
Brian Woods, Northside schools superintendent said he wasn’t aware of previous concerns about a culture of unsportsmanlike conduct at Jay.
“We don’t have any reason to believe the actions of those two young men are representative of that program or the student body of that school,” Woods said.
Woods said concerns about sportsmanship could be “applied both ways.” Marble Falls school officials attended the meeting but declined an offer to testify.
The Jay High School players, coaches and Watts did not attend the meeting. Watts’ attorney, Alan Goldberger of New Jersey, has denied Watts made racial remarks. Watts has been a game official for 14 years and was recently nominated for president of the Austin chapter of the Texas Association of Sports Officials.
Watts was not working with his regular crew at the game and was a fill-in for another official who couldn’t make it, said Michael Fitch, executive director of the officials association. Fitch said he’s still waiting for a complete report on the game from the crew.
The UIL said any state disciplinary action against the players or school won’t come before its next meeting Sept. 23.
The case has also has prompted a criminal investigation in Marble Falls, where the game was played about 90 miles north of San Antonio.
Video from the game showed the referee watching a play, and his head snapping back when he is leveled from behind and another player then dove on top of him. Northside school district officials have said that during the game, the suspended players “were feeling lots of frustration by what they perceived to be missed or wrong calls by the refs.” The players also alleged the referee directed racial slurs at them.
The students allege that assistant coach Mack Breed, 29, said “that guy needs to pay for cheating us” or words to that effect, according to the district.
Again, the latest:
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A Texas high school football coach has acknowledged he directed two of his players to hit a referee during a game earlier this month, according to the school’s principal.
In an internal school district statement, John Jay High School principal Robert Harris said that assistant coach Mack Breed told him he directed the students to hit the referee because the ref had used racial slurs and had missed calls. Details from the statement were first reported on Wednesday by ESPN (http://es.pn/1OuBule ).
The referee, Robert Watts, has denied using any slurs.
The coach “wanted to take full responsibility for his actions. Mr. Breed at one point during our conversation stated that he should have handled the referee himself,” Harris wrote in his statement.
The two suspended students, Michael Moreno and Victor Rojas, appeared Wednesday at separate disciplinary hearings, which were closed to the public. A decision is pending from the Northside school district on the students’ possible punishment, which could range from assignment to an alternative school to expulsion.
After Wednesday’s disciplinary hearing, Jesse Hernandez, the players’ attorney, cited the statement when speaking with reporters and said that if the two players hadn’t been directed by the coach and if the referee hadn’t used such language, “they wouldn’t have done this and they regret it.”
Hernandez and Breed, who remains suspended from the district, did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
During an appearance earlier this month on ABC’s “Good Morning, America,” Moreno said he regrets hitting Watts and wants to apologize. Rojas said he was just doing what he was told.
The two were suspended from the John Jay High School football team in San Antonio in the aftermath of the game early this month at Marble Falls. The Northside school district moved them to an alternative school pending a final decision in the case.
Video from the Sept. 4 game shows Rojas blindsiding Watts and Moreno diving on top of him. Watts was the umpire on the defensive side watching a play along the line of scrimmage.
Northside was scheduled to present the findings from its investigation at a meeting on Thursday in Round Rock of the state executive committee of the University Interscholastic League, which oversees Texas high school sports, said school district spokesman Pascual Gonzalez.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A Texas high school football coach has acknowledged he directed two of his players to hit a referee during a game earlier this month, according to the school’s principal.
In an internal school district statement, John Jay High School principal Robert Harris said that assistant coach Mack Breed told him he directed the students to hit the referee because the ref had used racial slurs and had missed calls. Details from the statement were first reported on Wednesday by ESPN (http://es.pn/1OuBule ).
The referee, Robert Watts, has denied using any slurs.
The coach “wanted to take full responsibility for his actions. Mr. Breed at one point during our conversation stated that he should have handled the referee himself,” Harris wrote in his statement.
The two suspended students, Michael Moreno and Victor Rojas, appeared Wednesday at separate disciplinary hearings, which were closed to the public. A decision is pending from the Northside school district on the students’ possible punishment, which could range from assignment to an alternative school to expulsion.
After Wednesday’s disciplinary hearing, Jesse Hernandez, the players’ attorney, cited the statement when speaking with reporters and said that if the two players hadn’t been directed by the coach and if the referee hadn’t used such language, “they wouldn’t have done this and they regret it.”
Hernandez and Breed, who remains suspended from the district, did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
During an appearance earlier this month on ABC’s “Good Morning, America,” Moreno said he regrets hitting Watts and wants to apologize. Rojas said he was just doing what he was told.
The two were suspended from the John Jay High School football team in San Antonio in the aftermath of the game early this month at Marble Falls. The Northside school district moved them to an alternative school pending a final decision in the case.
Video from the Sept. 4 game shows Rojas blindsiding Watts and Moreno diving on top of him. Watts was the umpire on the defensive side watching a play along the line of scrimmage.
Northside was scheduled to present the findings from its investigation at a meeting on Thursday in Round Rock of the state executive committee of the University Interscholastic League, which oversees Texas high school sports, said school district spokesman Pascual Gonzalez.
[h=1]John Jay assistant coach Mack Breed, who ordered players to hit ref, resigns[/h]
Mack Breed, the assistant coach from John Jay High School in San Antonio who was accused of directing two players to blindside an official during a game, has resigned, according to his attorney.
Breed was scheduled to appear Thursday morning before a meeting of the University Interscholastic League in Round Rock, Texas. According to evidence obtained by ESPN's Outside the Lines earlier this week, Breed admitted to his school principal that he ordered the players to strike the official out of anger because, according to Breed, the official had used racist language and made a series of bad calls.
Mack Breed, the assistant coach from John Jay High School in San Antonio who was accused of directing two players to blindside an official during a game, has resigned, according to his attorney.
Breed was scheduled to appear Thursday morning before a meeting of the University Interscholastic League in Round Rock, Texas. According to evidence obtained by ESPN's Outside the Lines earlier this week, Breed admitted to his school principal that he ordered the players to strike the official out of anger because, according to Breed, the official had used racist language and made a series of bad calls.
