High School Football Madness | Ivan Chen
High school football is nothing new to many high schools across America as it is easily one of the most popular athletic sports offered at any school. This sport requires a team effort and time put in training in order to succeed. Your teammates can easily become one of your closest friends as you develop that bond winning every game trying to become a state champion representing your school. In most cases, high school football players are known as the alphas on the school campus and can have a bit of an ego complex. However, recently things really took a huge turn in Texas when a high school player was charged with assault after rushing towards a referee from the sideline and knocking him down while he was off guard during the game.
The high school student, Emmanuel Duron, was charged by the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District police with assault towards one of the referees and was charged with either a 10k fine or a surety bond. Due to his immature actions, not only did this cost Emmanuel, but it severely affected his high school team and his school. The school district has made a final decision and removed the Edinburg High School football team from this year’s playoff because of the assault by Emmanuel. His actions were caught on video and were uploaded to social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok receiving millions of attention and judgment for this kid’s behavior. In the video, the student was seen being held back by a few of his teammates and coaches while trying to run at the referee. This anger came from the fact that he was ejected from the game prior due to two penalties against him, one including unsportsmanlike conduct. The player rushed midfield toward the referee and tackled him to the ground. Emmanuel was later seen being escorted off the field by law enforcement and the referee was helped by staff from both teams shortly after the incident. Thankfully, no one walked out of this with serious injuries, as the referee was seen walking by himself off the field. Both the student and his school received a lot of backlash and criticism for his action and the school needs to take these next few days with a carefully laid out plan on how to deal with this situation.
It is important to remember that as part of a high school team, every time you step out of that field, track, or court, you are representing your school. Every little action will be seen and it makes it even worse that you are wearing your school uniform. One action you make out of frustration or anger can cause someone to react negatively and start to have the judgment of the school you are representing. This high school student made a horrible mistake that I believe he can learn from. It will be very hard for him to get over this mountain of troubles he has created himself, but with the proper guidance and the right people around him, he will take this as a learning experience and mature from it.