Coach Admits to Ordering Hit on Ref, Resigns, Recants

The assistant coach of the two Texas high school football players who blindsided a referee during a game earlier this month has resigned.

Mack Breed, the assistant football coach at John Jay High School, reportedly resigned this morning. 

John Jay HS coach accused of directing players to hit an official has reportedly resigned: https://t.co/TRXBn5aYF0 pic.twitter.com/fPLsrWswp6

— ESPN (@espn) September 24, 2015

Reports had been circulated about Breed's role in the hit on the referee. 

In a signed statement that reveals his conversations and interactions with Breed, John Jay High School principal Robert Harris writes that assistant football Breed “directed the students to make the referee pay for his racial comments and calls.” 

“I later met with Coach Breed at John Jay High School … He wanted to take full responsibility for his actions. Mr. Breed at one point during our conversation stated that he should have handled the referee himself,” Harris wrote.

A report that appeared later this morning, however, says that Breed only admitted to ordering the hit to protect his players. 

"Now that I have seen the video and see how they hit the referee, I can no longer take the blame for the incident," Breed wrote. "I never told these players to hurt or injure anyone in that football game. I only made my earlier statement to try and save the boys from being kicked off the team. I wanted more time to teach them discipline and character they need."

The referee who was hit, Robert Watts, allegedly used racial slurs, including the N-word and remarks directed toward Hispanics, multiple times during the game, according to sideline sources.

Watts has declined comment, but his attorney says that Watts denies using racist remarks of any kind. 

The players involved in the hit, Victor Rojas and Michael Moreno, were told they could return to school for the spring semester following a disciplinary hearing earlier this week.