Two Texas high school football players could face criminal charges for hitting a referee.
Video of the incident during a Friday night game at Marble Falls High School appears to show two John Jay High School football players intentionally ambushing a referee.
One player rushed at the official, knocking him to the ground. The second player lunged at the man headfirst with his helmet, spearing the referee, who was still down on the turf.
Criminal defense attorney and former police officer James Reeves told KENS-5 that the students could face criminal assault charges:
"In this case, the helmet could arguably be considered a weapon. Especially in the second player who struck the official," he said.
"I can't get past why in this case," said Reeves. "Why this official? Why these two kids?"
Perhaps the attack had to do with a bad call made by the referee.
"Before the referee was hit, two Jay players had been ejected on separate plays," reports NY Daily News.
The names of the two players have not yet been released. Both have been suspended from the team and the school.
The incident is currently under investigation by the Marble Falls Police Department. No arrests have been made.
Did the two John Jay players do it on purpose? Watch the video below and decide for yourself.
Referee Robert Watts spoke out about the incident:
“I like to keep my officiating quiet,” he told TexasHSFootball.com. “Unfortunately this will be big news.”
He went on to say, “Libel and slander have already been committed against me. I will be contacting the appropriate people soon and any statement from me will come at a later date.”
The 14-year veteran referee gave no further details regarding his claims of libel and slander.
We will update this post as the investigation proceeds.