A high school football game has gone ugly after a Texas high school football player had charged back onto the field and attacked a game official on Thursday. The player's act was apparently in retaliation for having been ejected from the game.
The Monitor's Andrew McCulloch reported the incident.
McCulloch reported that during the game of Edinburg High against Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High, a defensive lineman of Edinburg, Emmanuel Duron, was tossed out early in the second quarter for unsportsmanlike conduct.
After walking to the sidelines, Duron had suddenly run back onto the field and body-slammed the referee, Fred Garcia, to the ground.
The 59-year-old Garcia was not able to defend himself as he had not seen Duron coming because he was turned in the other direction.
Duron was immediately subdued by his teammates and staff members.
Based on the report of McCulloch, Duron was escorted out of the stadium by a team of four Edinburg police officers, who were working as security for the game, Sports Illustrated reported.
The report also mentioned that the Edinburgh defensive lineman was not handcuffed when he was removed from the premises. Duron also did not return to the game venue after the unexpected incident.
When asked about the incident, the four officers who escorted Duron refused to comment and explained that they were not at liberty to talk about what had happened.
A cart was brought out on the field by the medical personnel to assess Garcia. Despite the fact that the official was able to get up on his own, he was still assisted off the turf.
Garcia was brought to an ambulance at the stadium and was evaluated for a potential shoulder injury and concussion-like symptoms. He also did not return to the game.
Garcia is a 27-year veteran referee with the Texas Association of Sports Officials.
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On his social media account, McCulloch shared the photos by Joel Martinez of The Monitor as well. The photos showed the brutal collision between the 18-year-old Duron and the 59-year-old Garcia.
Despite the said incident, Edinburg was able to advance to the Class 6A Division I playoffs after pushing the game to 35-21.
Aside from being the kicker and punter of the Bobcats, Duron was also named as the All-Area Boys Wrestler of the Year in 2020 by The Monitor, according to Bleacher Report.
On the other hand, the school district officials decided, on Friday, to remove Edinburg from the Class 6A state playoffs after they clinched a postseason berth by defeating PSJA, 35-21.
According to USA Today's Touchdownwire, Duron had been Edinburg's star player all season and was set to compete for a state wrestling title this winter.
As of Friday morning, a charge of class A assault was filed against Duron, who was arraigned at the Edinburgh Municipal Court. A bond of $10,000 was set, but Duron had already posted bail.
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