Principal: Texas high school football coach admits he ordered players to hit referee (VIDEO)





SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A high school principal in Texas said Wednesday the school's assistant football coach has acknowledged directing two players to a hit a referee during a game earlier this month.

A video of the two players blindsiding official Robert Watts from behind late in the fourth quarter of a game Sept. 4 in Marble Falls, Texas, has now been seen on YouTube by more than 11 million people.

In an internal school district statement first reported by ESPN, John Jay High School Principal Robert Harris said assistant coach Mack Breed admitted he "directed the students to make the referee pay for his racial comments and calls."

Watts has denied using any slurs.

The two football players, Michael Moreno and Victor Rojas, were suspended indefinitely from school after the video surfaced.

The two students appeared at a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday. District officials said later that Moreno and Rojas will remain in alternative school for 75 days. Their attorney, Jesse Hernandez, says they will be eligible to return to their regular classes at John Jay High School on Jan. 15.

 

Breed remains suspended from the district. He did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.