There are very few times where I become serious. I like to lighten the mood, joke around, and just have fun. However, in this situation, there is nothing to joke around about.
By now, you've probably heard of the two Texas high school players who blatantly blindsided a referee. The official, Robert Watts, was hit by one player, fell and was immediately hit by the second player. The two players, Michael Moreno and Victor Rojas, were sent to alternative school and became subject to harsh national scrutiny, as they absolutely should have been. Now, it is being reported that assistant coach Mack Breed has admitted to the principal of John Jay High School that he ordered the hit on Watts to make Watts "pay for his racial comments and calls." Watts has categorically denied saying any sort of racial slur. Breed has resigned and recanted, saying that now he has "seen the video and see how they hit the referee, I can no longer take the blame for the incident," and that he only originally took blame to protect the students from further punishment.
Which begs the question, why did you have to see the video before you could say, "Oh, I didn't actually order THAT?" Couldn't you have just said that you didn't order it from the start when they questioned you rather than cop to it first and then deny it later? That's like a kid telling their friend to go put glue in someone's hair, then when they actually do it, the kid goes, "Well I said it'd be funny, but I didn't they'd actually do it!"
Nothing about this situation is positive.
So many question surround the play. Who made the order to hit the ref? Who is responsible? Did Watts say any sort of racial slur? It is a horrible circumstance.
If the players did this on their own accord, then they should never play football again. Moreno is 17 and a senior, so he is done with his high school career. However, Rajos is 15 and can still play once he is eligible to return to school, which both will be in January. If he couldn't handle his emotions and reacted this way, clearly football needs to be the furthest thing from his mind.
However, it is highly believable that the coach had something to do with this. A coach's orders are gospel to players. If they tell you to do something, you're not to ask any questions, you do it. Should they have known that what the coach was saying was ridiculous? Without question. Yet, to put the blame solely on them for trying to do what their coach says is harsh, especially when the coach is the adult here who should know that you have to keep your composure, no matter what.
We all have dealt with some horrible officiating calls, and I can't imagine what I would think if a referee called me an offensive name. Still, you have to know that if you touch the referee, you're in trouble. When you do it this violently, from behind, nothing will serve as a good excuse.
Which goes right back to the coach. You should know this and be able to help your players rise above that. You're the adult.
This is one part of sports I don't love: when adults revert to children. Little league, high school, and college kids are now all watching as the people they're supposed to look up to revert back to behaving like they're the kids, leaving the athletes in a tough spot.
This epidemic starts with coaches. They have an extremely tough job of trying to get a bunch of youthful lives to come together and play well. It isn't a job made for everybody. Yet, it is tough to defend them when they commit some of the actions and say some of the things they do. You watch as coaches scream and literally turn blood red with anger at athletes who miss an assignment or make a bad play.
Don't believe me? I give you, WILL MUSCHAMP.
I'd like to take this time to remind you that Will Muschamp has made millions of dollars doing this in a college job. The college players he's yelling at make none.
We see coaches yell f-bombs at players. We see them question their manhood, like Jim McElwain did to one of his players a few weeks ago. It gets downright uncomfortable to listen to how some coaches talk to their college-aged or younger players. We've seen coaches completely lose their minds, like when former Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice was caught on camera throwing balls at his players and calling them "faggots" and "fairies," or Vanderbilt basketball coach Kevin Stallings say he was going to "kill" one of his players after he taunted other players.
Again, these are the men and women who are supposed to represent good character and teach these students the right way.
I get that coaches get frustrated when something goes wrong and they're human too. But when you are the man or woman representing a program and responsible for teaching young minds, who are not playing as a job, can you show just a little bit of restraint?
This is not just coaches, either. This is a fan issue as well.
Yes, I'm the same guy that wrote about being a passionate fan and getting mad about the team and taking sports very seriously. But there is a huge difference between being upset about something in a sporting event and going completely over the edge and acting like you're five.
I've seen a parent get kicked out of my little league baseball game because he disagreed with a ball-strike count. I wish I was making this up. The parent took the ball-strike count in a little league game so seriously, that he was willing to hold the game up so he could argue with the umpires for five minutes.
In 2014, Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart fell into the stands going for a ball. When he got up, a Texas Tech superfan named Jeff Orr, a 50-year-old man, said something to Smart that made the point guard turn around, say something back, and then push Orr. Reports came out that Orr had called him the N-word. More reports said that this was not the first time that Orr had gotten into it with a college athlete. Orr denied calling Smart the word, but said that he wouldn't attend any more games that year.
Again, not OK for Smart to shove the guy. You have to show composure and walk away. It hurts and your heart is telling you one thing, but you have got to think it through.
Yet, I cannot get over this fact: A 50-YEAR-OLD MAN HAS HAD MULTIPLE ISSUES WITH COLLEGE KIDS.
My goodness, where is your life at when that is your reputation? You act like a kid when you go to these sporting events, and when one college student, who was known for being competitive and a hot-head at times, finally doesn't take it and shoves you, we are expected to just fall back and punish the kid? Sure, but who's the kid in that situation? Had he not pushed him, perhaps Orr keeps hurling derogatory comments at other college students!
Not defending Smart's actions, but just think about it.
Like I pointed out in my last article, I heard a fan threaten a college kid's life because he wasn't playing the point guard spot the way he felt he should. I mean, I go nuts at sporting events, but I seriously have to ponder what goes through some adults minds when they say this stuff.
It is completely OK to cheer for your team and root against the opposition. You can boo when the opposing team does something well or is introduced. But when you cross the line and make it personal, you're no longer a sports fan or an adult. You're a jackass.
Not all coaches or fans contribute to this problem. Most are very respectful, professional, and keep their anger restrained or express it in the right place and in the right way. However, there are enough coaches and fans who can't act like adults that it is becoming a little bit alarming. And now, we've seen a referee blindsided by two players because a coach to them to "make them pay." Even if he truly didn't say that, the way he has acted after the initial statement came out doesn't convince me of that.
Root for your team. Coach your team. Have fun. But, please, act your age when doing so.
