Sports
Texas High School Coach Admits He Ordered Players to Hit Referee for Alleged Racist Remarks
(SB Nation) – John Jay High School in San Antonio was placed in the spotlight after a Sept. 5 video went viral showing two football players attacking a referee during a game. Racist comments by the referee were mentioned as a possible motive for the attack, and the players involved told Good Morning America that they were “ordered” to hit the referee from their coach. Now the coach has confirmed the story.
Secondary coach Mack Breed reportedly told John Jay’s principal that he ordered the attack to “make the referee pay for his racial comments and calls,” according to ESPN’s Outside the Lines. The report alleges that referee Robert Watts twice used the N-word during the game, as well as using offensive language toward Hispanics. Watts’ lawyer denies his client made any remarks during the game.
John Jay principal Robert Harris said the following of his conversation with the coach who ordered the attack:
“Coach Breed told me that he directed the students to make the referee pay for his racial comments and calls. He wanted to take full responsibility for his actions. Mr. Breed at one point during our conversation stated that he should have handled the referee himself.”
