This is absolutely DISGUSTING

[maven]

Two new developments:

The perpetrators were #12 and #81. The officials ejected #12 and #7, who said he did it. The remaining perpetrators, #81, was left in the game for the last play, during which he hit the opposing QB.

The offenders' camp has released a statement saying that the perpetrators were responding to a "racial slur" from the official, who by all reports would never use such language.

[DVA7130]

Two new developments:

The perpetrators were #12 and #81. The officials ejected #12 and #7, who said he did it. The remaining perpetrators, #81, was left in the game for the last play, during which he hit the opposing QB.

The offenders' camp has released a statement saying that the perpetrators were responding to a "racial slur" from the official, who by all reports would never use such language.

Ah, trying to use the old racial slur get-out-of-jail-free card to get back on the public's side.

[Mike Walsh]

I bet  both sides used a peremptory strike to remove me from the panel.

I bet only one of them did!

Mike

[MadMax]

This is starting to get more widespread coverage:

http://www.maxim.com/entertainment/sports/article/high-school-football-players-tackle-referee-2015-9

The closing statement by Thomas Freeman rubs me the wrong way, though...

"Until then, the ire of the Internet should be punishment enough"

That's incredibly trite, and an example of how convoluted our culture has become to think that 15 seconds, and several million viewings of a video clip, and then pages and pages of comments expressing outrage, and the public shame and humiliation are "punishment enough". Invariably, this will be played out over the major broadcast news networks, and then you'll hear from the talking heads about how they're under-priveldged kids, and they got caught up in a bad decision, and whether or not a racial slur was uttered, and how we (the culture) are wrecking the lives of several youths, blah blah blah.

It needs to be pointed out, definitively and comprehensively, that this action was reprehensible, that it was coordinated and collaborated, and that its consequences end with the removal of their (the players) priveledges and ability to play football for personal gain (i.e. scholarships, endorsements, paycheck). The NFL and Arena Football League need to be notified, and the NCAA made aware of these two. These kids don't play football for the love of football. If they did, they wouldn't do something like _that_. No, kids like these look at football as a right and a means to a livelihood (college scholarships and NFL / AFL employment). In one moment, they nearly ended the life (potentially) and livelihood of an official.

[conbo61]

Mike Pereira has a very definite opinion.

http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/texas-school-district-suspends-two-high-school-players-after-referee-hit-090615

[johnnyg08]

Let's pretend for a moment that said official did say something inappropriate...then that somehow makes what they did okay?

Give me a break.  The exact same penalty should apply regardless.  There are avenues to lodge a complaint about the conduct of an official.  The method they chose is not one of those options.

[basejester]

I agree that there should be significant consequences far beyond the inherent public shaming.  However, I think it's improbable that this attack would be lethal. 

[Mike Walsh]

This is starting to get more widespread coverage:

http://www.maxim.com/entertainment/sports/article/high-school-football-players-tackle-referee-2015-9

The closing statement by Thomas Freeman rubs me the wrong way, though...

"Until then, the ire of the Internet should be punishment enough"

That's incredibly trite, and an example of how convoluted our culture has become to think that 15 seconds, and several million viewings of a video clip, and then pages and pages of comments expressing outrage, and the public shame and humiliation are "punishment enough". Invariably, this will be played out over the major broadcast news networks, and then you'll hear from the talking heads about how they're under-priveldged kids, and they got caught up in a bad decision, and whether or not a racial slur was uttered, and how we (the culture) are wrecking the lives of several youths, blah blah blah.

It needs to be pointed out, definitively and comprehensively, that this action was reprehensible, that it was coordinated and collaborated, and that its consequences end with the removal of their (the players) priveledges and ability to play football for personal gain (i.e. scholarships, endorsements, paycheck). The NFL and Arena Football League need to be notified, and the NCAA made aware of these two. These kids don't play football for the love of football. If they did, they wouldn't do something like _that_. No, kids like these look at football as a right and a means to a livelihood (college scholarships and NFL / AFL employment). In one moment, they nearly ended the life (potentially) and livelihood of an official.

I'd agree completely with you if he hadn't said, "Until then."  This has to play out with due process. What you want is absolutely needed, and it should happen in a deliberate manner, without a rush to justice. In the meantime, the Internet is doing a preliminary job of getting a public outcry against the behavior. 

Mike

[Umpire in Chief]

Throwing my $0.02 in...

Regardless of anything the referee said or did their action is inexcusable. If it was a blown call, get over it. That's unfortunately part of the game. If the allegations are correct and the referee used a racial slur, that would be incredible ignorant on the official's part (or anybody who feels the need to stoop down to that level), but this too would not justify the attack which took place. There are other venues in place to seek appropriate action.

In looking at various reports of this incident I keep seeing some form of the phrase of "the official was tackled." I think that is incredibly cowardice of the media (but I have no greater expectations) because what we see here is an attack.

After looking at this video quite a few times I have no doubt these two players colluded in this attack. The remaining question is what, if any, involvement of the coaching staff there may have been; and I hope there was none. Even if it was a off hand remark like, 'That guy sucks somebody ought to take him out' or something of the like now the coaching staff is culpable IMO. 

I have zero legal expertise, experience, training or education in criminal law matters but my belief (founded on nothing more than gut feeling/possibly recalling something somewhat similar) is that the DA could possibly bring charges on their own, without the referee requesting, if they find enough evidence that a crime has been committed by submitting it to a grand jury and going that route. 

Either way, I fully believe this shows a criminal act tacking place; to what extent and classification(s) is beyond me. I would hope to see anybody involved charged appropriately.

Additionally, I would hope the official involved would pursue civil action against all who are involved. 

As for the team as a whole I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I hate to punish those who are not involved. On the other, this is so egregious setting a firm tone that this will absolutely not be tolerated is in the best interest of the district, state and the sport itself. So it is not lightly that I say that I believe that this school's season should be forfeited.  

This is one to follow as it progresses. 

[Mike Walsh]

 

As for the team as a whole I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I hate to punish those who are not involved. On the other, this is so egregious setting a firm tone that this will absolutely not be tolerated is in the best interest of the district, state and the sport itself. So it is not lightly that I say that I believe that this school's season should be forfeited.  

Football is a team sport. When they are penalized, they are as a team. I think you are 100% correct.  It is in the best interest of the sport to give the team the death penalty for the season. There should be consequences for actions, and sometimes, those consequences affect others.

Mike

[basejester]

We should suspend Tom Brady, who also plays football.  Anything less sends the message that we're condoning the behavior of these football players.

 

 

[jjb]

1. The "he used a racial slur" card is not worthy of consideration. It's simply flailing to justify the unjustifiable.

2. Do not expect the Court system to give you what you want. Nobody's going to jail on this. The Court will look at this as a couple "kids" who did something stupid. Expect a Suspended Sentence and Community Service.

3. NOW: I do not recommend cancelling the school's program, provided the UIL does the right thing, and here's why:

If the UIL tells the kids: "OK, you will NEVER play ANY UIL-sanctioned sport, in ANY program in Texas (that's as far as their jurisdiction goes", here's what will happen:

1. These morons will not be offered scholarships, as the only information anybody will have about them will be this incident, and

2. The school program will continue, and they'll have to sit in the stands and wonder what could have been. I want them to stay in school, (so they don't end up on the streets), and every game the school plays will eat at them.

 

[scrounge]

Updated:  Apparent coach involvement...

 

http://www.sportingnews.com/sport/story/2015-09-08/referee-hit-high-school-players-san-antonio-john-jay

[ricka56]

We should suspend Tom Brady, who also plays football. 

Problem is (unlike OP) there is no evidence that Brady had anything to do with the cheating, of which there is only weak evidence of even occurring.    
An even wonkier/tech heavy debunking of the Wells analysis concludes Patriots deflating the balls was unlikely. 

[johnnyg08]

The other piece here is that it's very likely that these kids are juveniles.  

I think no matter what, the consequences will be far from what we'd expect if they were adults. 

Juvenile justice, especially in assault cases like are generally pretty "slap on the wrist" type of situations.  

I'm not going to hold my breath for something huge.

[johnnyg08]

We still don't know the ages of the players, but I did read on cnn.com that in Texas:

Individuals 17 and older are considered adults in Texas. Dillard said he did not know the players' ages.

[jjb]

If the AC said something as stupid as this (and I'm willing to let the facts come out), it's now opened the school to a lawsuit from the Ref. The HC is now defecating bricks, and the AD is checking his ATM balance.

As far as a defense, The AC's statements are meaningless. Like I said, they're not going to jail, so whatever the Defense Attorney has to say to the Court isn't going to really affect the punishment: a wag of his finger is a wag of his finger. I'm only mildly interested in what the Juvenile Court has to say.

I'm interested in the UIL decision: they're the ones in the crosshairs. UIL covers all High School sports in Texas. If you haven't figured it out by now, HS football is enormous down here. There's a thousand football and other sports officials looking at them saying, "OK, are you going to protect us or not?" If they're smart, they'll simply say, "OK, gentlemen, for the remainder of your High School Careers, you can't even play on the Chess Team", and let it go. It's the HS equivalent of the Death Penalty (OK, a little strong: call it the Pete Rose Rule). They drop the hammer, the message is sent, and we move on. If, however, they ever let these jackwagons on a HS field again, you may see a message sent from the Officials. To the UIL. JMHO

[johnnyg08]

The adult will be held far more accountable if there's evidence that he was involved since he was in a position of authority over these student-athletes.

[Umpire in Chief]

From NASO today... 

http://www.naso.org/go/pressreleases/090815_email.html?utm_source=EmailDirect.com&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Texas+incident+to+NASO+members

 

[basejester]

Milgram Experiment

[ElkOil]

Updated:  Apparent coach involvement...

 

http://www.sportingnews.com/sport/story/2015-09-08/referee-hit-high-school-players-san-antonio-john-jay

I hope Watts takes them to town on this.  Go up one side and down the other.

I'm glad to see NASO's stand.  TASO is holding tight on any statements right now, but I'm confident they're backing Watts, too.

[RichMSN]

The racial slur angle is complete bullSH*#.  That would've been corroborated by the opponent....and we've heard nothing but crickets from the other school.

Film don't lie.

[ElkOil]

So the official made a racial slur that provoked your attack?

Edited September 9, 2015 by ElkOil

[MadMax]

And then articles like this one come out: http://usatodayhss.com/2015/assistant-coach-john-jay-marble-falls-targeting-referee

The latest is that an assistant coach – the coach of the secondary / defensive backs, specifically – may have inspired or prompted his charges (that means his players) to mete out some impromptu "payback" on the official. Why am I not surprised? Why am I not surprised??

Even while I read the article, I got a picture in my head of what this secondary coach looks like. Allow me to tell a brief story that is not quite related to this assault, but is parallel. Since the late 1990's, defensive backs don't tackle the way you and I were taught to tackle. With how much faster and bigger the participants are, there is little sense of using the arms and wrapping up. Additionally, causing turnovers is a crucial, measurable factor to a defense's success. Defenders (defensive backs especially) either target the ball or to hit the opponent in a manner so as to separate ball from body, and they do so full-body, full-speed, and full-force. Lastly, there is a paramount importance on unquantifiables such as "sending a message" or "knocking (that) opponent out of the game". Often times, in college football games, you'll see an offensive player make a run or a catch-and-run, and see defenders forsake the opportunity to bring him down in favor of diving at him, dropping a shoulder, or trying to pry the ball loose. We (the fans) are left wondering, "Is anyone going to tackle this guy? Do any of you guys know how to tackle any more?!" No. No-one knows how to tackle any more... Because they're not taught how to tackle – they're taught to "make a play", which is coach-speak for "be violent".

In my mid-20's, I was on the sidelines during a high school football playoff game, and there was the typical blizzard of cliché anecdotes and sayings. One in particular was much more edgy than the rest, and was downright disturbing when you identified who it was coming from and for what purpose.

"You've got to blow him up! You've got to BLOW HIM UP!!! "

Secondary coach. Hollering this at his four defensive backs any time one of them was anywhere near an offensive player with the ball. And all of those defensive backs tried to tackle the same way – no arms, leading with the head, almost launching themselves into the opponent's head or chest. Also, frequent additional hits after the offensive player is otherwise down, either to "get yer licks in" or to, again, jettison the ball free.

My point is, it is (now, with this insightful info coming out) very likely these kids were prompted to perform this attack by an overly-aggressive, bitter coach (position coach, not Head Coach) who was effective in college, but didn't have the NFL makeup, and wanted to take out his frustrations on an official "who done us wrong". I doubt that those two players coordinated that between themselves - "Hey Chester, man, I'll "tackle" that ref and when he's down, you spear him."... But I would believe it if it comes out that something like this was said, "Hey. You two... Go blow him up."

[Thunderheads]

Personally;

If ANY proof whatsoever is found along the lines of the coaches, ... they're done.   The 2 players are done with their season, and this video should be shown to ANYONE thinking of having them play on their college teams.  I hope both of these scumbags lose any scholarship hopes over this (if they had any).  Karma's a bitch boys!  You've made your bed.

Secondly, .... I hope Mr. Watts files charges of assault as well.  Make these two idiots suffer as much as possible.  

Nice to see NASO and TASO involved