Violence in high school football: Are adults setting the right example?
A small handful of violent outbursts on high school football fields has prompted some schools to reexamine the behavior that adults on the field model for young men who participate in an already highly charged sport.
A central Florida high school football coach is being held on a $1,000 bond at an Osceola County jail, after being arrested this weekend for allegedly hitting a referee in retaliation for a disputed call. Leo Davis聽, said the Osceola County Sheriff鈥檚 Office on Monday.
The referee suffered minor injuries after being hit in the face by Mr. Davis, officials say, while parents and coaches argued on the field over a controversial call at a sophomore league game at Liberty High School in Kissimmee.
Meanwhile, on September 4 an assistant coach at John Jay High School in San Antonio out of anger over his calls and use of racist language, reported ESPN.
On a football field after a game between John Jay and Marble Falls high schools, a John Jay knocking him to the ground, reports The New York Times. He was followed by another player who dove onto Mr. Watts鈥� back while he was on the ground. The spectacle was shot on video and posted to YouTube, where.
鈥淭hey just brutally blindsided him,鈥� Alan Goldberger, lawyer for Watts told the Times. 鈥淗e never saw it coming, obviously.鈥�
Assistant coach Mack Breed admitted that he "directed the students to make the referee pay for his racial comments and calls," reported ESPN. The referee denies that he made racial comments.
The two students 鈥� 15-year-old John Jay sophomore Victor Rojas and 17-year-old senior Michael Moreno 鈥� said in a hearing that they consider the assistant coach, Mack Breed a "second father,鈥� reported ESPN.
Officials for the University Interscholastic League in Texas, which manages all athletic programs for the state, encouraged the district to investigate the culture of the school鈥檚 football program.
鈥淭here were multiple ejections, punches thrown throughout the game, trash-talking, and unsportsmanlike conduct,鈥� league member Gil Garza told the Times.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see any leadership coming from the coaching staff,鈥� Mr. Garza added.
