Two Texas high school football players say a coach told them to strike a referee during a game because of missed calls.
“While on the sideline he pulled me and another player, and he told us, and I quote, ‘You need to hit him. He needs to pay the price for everything that’s going on in the game,’” Michael Moreno said during an appearance Friday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“There was racial slurs being thrown at players from this referee, unjustified calls and a lot was going on. His [the coach’s] emotions got mixed into and he told us to do what he did.”
Moreno said he heard from the coach directly, while Victor Rojas said another player reiterated the coach’s order. The suspended John Jay High players didn’t name the coach Friday. Assistant coach Mack Breed has been suspended by the Northside school district pending an investigation.
Video from the game against Marble Falls earlier this month shows Rojas blindsiding referee Robert Watts, and Moreno diving on top of him.
Watts has denied using any racial slurs, but the players from the San Antonio school both said they heard the slurs directly.
“He told one of my Hispanic friends, ‘Speak English — this is America,’” Rojas said. “I heard that and he called an African-American the n-word.”
Moreno says he regrets hitting Watts and wants to apologize.
“When it was happening, I realized the gravity of the situation. This is all happening. I couldn’t fully go through with it, so at the end I pulled up a lot,” Moreno said. “It was hard for me … to actually go through with it. To this day, it is one of my biggest regrets. It’s been affecting my life, greatly.”
The two players have been kicked off the football team for the rest of the season and were suspended for three days. ESPN reported the two players could face criminal charges if Watts opts to press charges.
“I regret it greatly and I hope people can change their mind about us and lighten up our consequences,” Moreno said.