As the father of 3 boys who played high school football in Texas, I can assure that it is a religion down here. The schools take rivalries very seriously. The boys play to win. The parents are loud and some time obnoxious. And the referees sometimes make mistakes too.
The country is talking about an incident in a game down in Texas:
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.
First of all, there is no excuse for hitting a referee. The video clearly shows that the young man hit the referee from behind and could have hurt him very badly. A high school player wearing a helmet can do a lot of damage to a referee standing waiting to make the next call. In the real world, this would be battery or assault. The player, or perhaps players, should be kicked out of the school league immediately.
I don't know about the coach or staff. We are not clear as their role in the incident.
However, there should be huge penalties if any coach suggested hitting a referee because of a call.
Second, where did these boys learn to retaliate for allegations of racial slurs? Who told them to settle such issues violently?
It's a complicated answer but we can look at the landscape of the nation. Over and over, we see politicians play the race card or people take action against authority figures, such as the police.
We hear community leaders play the race card rather than take an honest look at the problems in the minority community.
Yes, it happened in a football game in Texas. However, it speaks volumes about the country and what these kids are hearing from some of our grownups.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
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