Local police department and school district both involved in punishment of John Jay High School football players
The Marble Falls Police Department is involving itself in the investigation of an incident regarding the assault of a football official last Friday, according to a report by KSAT San Antonio.
Two football players at John Jay High School in San Antonio may be charged with Class A misdemeanors for Assault with Bodily Injury after they both attacked a referee from behind at the end of a play.
The names of the players will not be released, as they are both minors.
The incident made national headlines as it brings a rare case of assault against an official and the subsequent punitive process to the forefront.
“Bottom line is, we are involved on the criminal side of it. The University Interscholastic League (UIL) and school district investigation are totally separate from this,” said Chief Mark Whitacre of the Marble Falls Police Department.
ABC News reports that the players involved in the incident have been suspended indefinitely by John Jay High School and by the school’s football team. They will face a disciplinary hearing and the incident is being treated as an assault against a school official.
Rumors were swirling around the idea that John Jay’s football season may be canceled, but Northside School District Superintendent Dr. Brian Wood has stated otherwise, according to KXAN.
“Given information we have, we’re not canceling the John Jay football season,” said Dr. Wood. “We’re not going to punish hundreds for actions of a few, we’ll use this as a teaching moment for students.”
The two football players for John Jay are not the only parties that are being accused of wrongdoing.
In a story on ESPN.com, the two players in question allege that the official used racial slurs against them during the game and that an assistant coach encouraged their actions.
A 29-year-old assistant coach at John Jay, Mack Breed, has been placed on administrative leave for telling the two players that the referee “needs to pay for cheating us.”
According to ESPN.com, the official, Robert Watts, denies using racial slurs.
His attorney, Alan Goldberger, stated on “Today” that the hit against Watts was not motivated by the use of racial slurs, according to FOXSports.com.
“He didn’t make any racially charged or inappropriate comments to these or any other student athletes on the night of the game,” said Goldberger.
The dual involvement of both the school district and the local police department has triggered public discourse on social media about how the players, the coach and official involved in the incident should be disciplined.
It is very rare that local law enforcement involves itself in issues that occur on the field, but this situation involves an assault where serious injury could have occurred.
The John Jay High School football players are facing punitive action from two separate entities in two different geographical locations, which is quite unusual.
