A Texas high school football player who attacked a referee during a game last week is now facing criminal charges, and the school district has made the decision to remove the player’s team from the playoffs.
Edinburg High School senior Emmanuel Duron was booked into jail Friday morning and charged with “assault causing bodily injury,’ according to records obtained by Yahoo Sports.
Duron, 18, posted a $10,000 bond and was released pending trial.
Duron was initially ejected for a late hit in a Thursday game against Pharr-San Juan Alamo. The penalty was Duron’s second back-to-back unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. In a video of the incident that was posted to The Dallas Morning News, the referee Fred Garcia can be seen ejecting Duron from the middle of the field. After the call is made, Duron charges from the sidelines and blindsides Garcia.
In a statement, the Edinburg school district said it would move to ban Edinburg High School from the playoffs.
BREAKING: Edinburg CISD has made the decision to remove the Bobcats from the playoffs following the incident last night. Disciplinary actions will be made following further investigation of the incident. Full statement @cbs4rgv @kveotv23 #txhsfb pic.twitter.com/BSJsvayplU
— Amanda Atwell (@AmandaMAtwell) December 4, 2020
The incident will be under investigation by the Texas Association of Sports Officials, according to a statement released by TASO on Friday:
“On the evening of December 3, 2020 another vicious and deliberate assault was inflected on a TASO Football Official by a player who had just been ejected from the contest. Unfortunately, this type of blind-sided assault on an official while working on the field is not new to Texas Football.
“Though this latest incident is only hours old, TASO has begun our investigation and started collaboration with the UIL to bring this matter to a suitable disposition.”
