Hearing calls John Jay HS coaches' conduct into question over referee incident
— -- ROUND ROCK, Texas -- High school sports officials in Texas are questioning whether the coaches of two players accused of intentionally hitting a referee should have done more to calm emotions in what had been a tense game.
Executive board members of the University Interscholastic League held an emergency public hearing Wednesday on the incident from last Friday when two San Antonio John Jay High School players blindsided game umpire Robert Watts. The incident has drawn national attention.
Board members called it an embarrassment for the state that will not be tolerated. Committee members directed local school officials to investigate whether John Jay High School has a culture of unsportsmanlike conduct.
Board member Gil Garza, athletic director for Dallas schools, said the game was filled with penalties and ejections and was a "time bomb" waiting to go off.
Northside Independent School District Superintendent Brian T. Woods said Tuesday that the two players -- identified as sophomore Victor Rojas and senior Mike Moreno by the San Antonio Express-News -- accused Watts of directing racial slurs at the players.
Alan Goldberger, an attorney for Watts, told ESPN that the referee is "outraged" about the allegation and that "he's not a happy camper about being falsely accused."
The UIL hearing on Wednesday didn't reach a resolution, but the state's governing body for high school athletics does have jurisdiction to impose additional sanctions for the two players, who remain on indefinite suspension from school.
A source told ESPN's Pedro Gomez that the students' chances of being reinstated at John Jay High School are "highly unlikely." Other possible options for the students include enrolling at an alternative school -- where only students who have faced disciplinary sanctions attend -- or possible expulsion, in which case they would not be allowed to enroll at any public school in the state of Texas.
Meanwhile, Mack Breen, an assistant coach at John Jay who has been accused of suggesting the students retaliate against the referee, has been placed on leave.
The NISD announced it is treating the incident, which was captured on video, as an assault on a school official. The incident happened during a game Friday between John Jay and Marble Falls High School, north of San Antonio.
Video shows Watts, who was watching the play from behind the defensive line, getting leveled from behind by a first player, causing Watts' head to snap back. The other player then is seen lowering his helmet and piling into Watts after he had fallen down.
The Marble Falls Police Department also is conducting an investigation and is scheduled to hold a press conference on Thursday.
Information from ESPN's Pedro Gomez, Michael C. Wright and the Associated Press was used in this report.
