The governing body for Texas high-school sports on Wednesday questioned 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 (UIL) 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. Marble Falls beat Jay in Friday’s game, 15-9.
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,” Houston committee member James Colbert said.
Dallas committee member Gil Garza, who used to work in San Antonio schools, said there were reports of 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, describing the out-of-control atmosphere as “a time bomb waiting to happen. And it did.”
Garza questioned whether the game officials could have done more to control the game.
Officials with Northside and the Texas Association of Sports Officials are investigating the incident.
“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,” Northside schools superintendent Brian Woods said.
He 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.
The league said any state disciplinary action against the players or university would not come before its next meeting on Sept. 23.
The case has prompted a criminal investigation in Marble Falls, where the game was played.
Video from the game showed the referee watching a play, and his head snapping back when he was leveled from behind and another player then dived 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 Breed, 29, said “that guy needs to pay for cheating us” or words to that effect, according to the district.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS