A Texas high school football player who attacked a referee after being ejected from a game has been arrested and charged with assault.
Edinburg High Schoo’s Emmanuel Duron sprinted from the sideline and body checked match official Fred Gracia to the ground after being ejected from his team’s game versus PSJA High School on Thursday.
The 18-year-old was escorted from the stadium by police, while Gracia was evaluated in an ambulance for concussion-like symptoms and a shoulder injury.
Local newspaper The Monitor reports that Duron was charged with Class A assault during an arraignment at the Edinburg Municipal Court on Friday morning.
A judge set a $10,000 bond for Duron, which was paid later the same day by a bail bondsman.
Following Duron’s attack, Edinburg was also expelled from its district’s football playoffs.
“The district has decided to remove the Edinburg High School football team from the playoffs after an unexpected incident involving a student that occurred during a football game on December 3, 2020,” said a statement from the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District (CISD).
“We extend a sincere apology to the referee and his family. We will take the appropriate disciplinary action once we understand the facts and circumstances underlining this incident. The district takes these matters very seriously; however, we cannot comment further on a pending investigation until such investigation is complete.”
*story by Insider