Anyone who is anyone knows how integral high school football is to the fabric of Texas.
Visit any small town in Texas on a Friday night and you’ll see that first hand. Fans are more than willing to drop everything and make their way to their local high school stadium to support their team.
But perhaps what makes it all so special is the emotion the game brings. Not only from the fans, but from the players themselves, who eagerly await Fridays.
The fanaticism in Texas is so high, school districts have carved out large, multi-million dollar bond packages to build behemoth stadiums that rival that of a Division II college. Heck, entire magazines have built massive sections around high school football.
Safe to say, we Texans take our football, primarily the high school variety, seriously. Cue the sarcastic eye rolls from a majority of readers, and a few “duhs”.
But at what point does that fanaticism cross the line? When does football start to get too raw and too real.
Sadly, it seems that line may have been crossed this past weekend in Marble Falls.
The viewing of a video from last weekend’s incident has been unavoidable. You can thank the rapid pace of the 24-hour news cycle and the even faster paced world of social media.
The story involving two players from John Jay High in San Antonio has spread like wildfire. If you’re not in the know, the story goes something like this:
Two John Jay High football players were shown in a video intentionally hitting an official in the waning moments of Friday’s game between Jay and Marble Falls.
According to a report from the San Antonio Express News, the two players, sohpmore Victor Rojas and senior Mike Moreno, tackled and then speared umpire Robert Watts of the Austin Chapter of the Texas Association of Sports Officials (TASO). It’s believed the players targeted the referee because of a bad call.
A total of four students were ejected from the game, althought only one of the two players involved in this particular incident were ejected.
It’s the actions of Rojas and Moreno that ignited a firestorm of debate across the internet. Currently, both players have been suspended.
Criminal charges could also be pending. According to a report from the Marble Falls Daily Tribune, the Marble Falls Police Department is investigating the incident. No arrests have been made.
Marble Falls head coach Matt Green told the Tribune that Jay head coach Gary Gutierrez has apologized for the actions of his players. In addition, the Northeast ISD has released a statement condemning the actions of the players.
But a Texas-sized twist was added late Tuesday, as the two players involved allege the official directed racial slurs at them. It’s also alleged an assistant coach ordered the players to hit the referee for “cheating” the team. That coach has been placed on administrative leave.
However this incident plays out – two players going rogue, an angry coach, a racist official – it all sheds a horrific light on Texas high school football.
It tarnishes a lot of the good that has come out of the sport. From the players that play the game the right way, to the officials who do everything in their power to get it as right as possible, to the coaches who try to instill positive values to their kids.
Everything has been put into question by this one awful event.
This moment undoubtedly will provide an indelible teaching moment for everyone.
And perhaps we can all realize the one thing that seems to be forgotten in all of this.
It’s only a game.
