On Sunday, I told you that two high school football players at a Texas high school deliberately drove into an official late in a Friday night game. It was easily one of the dirtiest moments ever seen at any level on a football field. School officials are seriously considering whether to throw the players out of school, but that could be the least of their troubles. The district attorney in the town where this vicious hit took place is considering whether to file criminal charges against the players.
Police in Marble Falls, in the Hill Country northeast of Austin, are investigating the incident that took place late in Friday night’s game between John Jay High School of San Antonio and Marble Falls High School. With about a minute left in regulation, a player from John Jay rushed in from about seven yards out and blasted an official from behind. While the official was still on the ground, another player dove in on him while leading with his helmet. In case you missed it, watch it here:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNCrs63JeuM&w=853&h=480]
According to Marble Falls police spokesman Tom Dillard, Burnet County District Attorney Eddie Arredondo is open to charging the two players with assault. Police say their investigation could take up to a week. The lawyer for the stricken official, Robert Watts, let it be known on NBC’s “Today” that his client considers the hit “a heinous crime,” and wants the players dealt with severely. Watts, who was filling in for another official on that crew, has already made clear that he wants to press charges.
In the absence of something we haven’t heard or seen, these two players better have lawyers on speed dial. From the looks of the video, both players rushed in on the official at close to full speed, and from a considerable distance. Throw in that the first player hit him from behind, and the second player hit him while he was on the ground and defenseless. If this isn’t assault, I don’t know what is. If those players have any sense, they’ll be sounding out plea bargain terms. After all, anyone who knows anything about football would look at that tape and conclude that this was a criminal act.
The two players have been suspended from school pending a disciplinary hearing. Officials with the Northside Independent School District, of which John Jay is a part, are treating this hit as an assault on a school official, an offense that could get them expelled from school. John Jay secondary coach Mack Breed has also been put on administrative leave after it came to light that he that Watts “needs to pay for cheating us” after two John Jay players were ejected. I hope that this was merely said in the heat of the moment. If it wasn’t, then Breed should have to worry about a lot more than keeping his job.
The players, along with several John Jay students, claim that Watts was yelling racial slurs at them, a charge that Watts denies. District and school officials are taking the students’ claims seriously, and are filing a complaint with the Texas Association of Sports Officials. If it does turn out that Watts yelled racial slurs, that should not spare the players from being severely punished by school officials. Nor should it deter the district attorney from charging them with assault. Regardless of whether you’re provoked by a racist idiot, there is no excuse to take matters into your own hands in this way. Period, full stop.
I’m glad that NISD isn’t blowing off the charges of racism on Watts’ part, though. If he was indeed yelling racial slurs, he should never be allowed near a football field again. But that shouldn’t get the players out of the hot water they’re currently in. Whether this incident was racially tinged or not, these two players need to cut their losses and accept that they’ll likely never play a down anywhere in Texas again, and that they may not be coming back to school for a very long time. If the district attorney does get involved, these players should save themselves and their families further embarrassment and plead guilty.
