Sports
Players Ordered to Hit Ref Can Return to School Next Semester, Lawyer Says
(ESPN) – Two Texas high school football players who hit a referee in a Sept. 4 game at the direction of the team’s assistant coach will be eligible to return to their school for the spring semester, the players’ lawyer told ESPN on Wednesday. The decision comes after individual hearings were held by the Northside Independent School District in San Antonio.
The two John Jay High School players, 15-year-old Victor Rojas and 17-year-old Michael Moreno, have been assigned to an alternative school and have been prohibited from even watching John Jay games as spectators. The punishment for the two teens, according to their attorney, Jesse Hernandez, is 75 days in the alternative school. With credit for time they have already spent there, the boys will be eligible to return to John Jay when the semester starts on Jan. 15.
“Obviously the boys wanted to return to John Jay High School immediately, but we think this punishment is within the bounds of fairness, and the boys have accepted responsibility for their actions,” Hernandez said.
Northside ISD released a statement saying that two disciplinary hearings were held, one for each player, to address “violations of the Student Code of Conduct.”
