A high school football player from Texas charged onto the field and ran over a referee Thursday night because he was angry after being ejected from the game. Emmanuel Duron, a senior defensive lineman from Edinburg High School, ran towards referee Fred Garcia after announcing he was ejected from the game. Duran slammed Garcia to the ground and was then escorted from the stadium by police officers.
According to The Monitor, Duron was not in handcuffs when he was escorted off the field. And when the newspaper reached out to the Edinburg Police Department officers who were at the game, they said: “No comment. We are not at liberty to talk about that.” After the game. Edinburg coach JJ Lejia said he could not say anything about Duron as he wanted to celebrate the win.
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Insane situation at a high school football game in Edinburg, Texas. A player gets ejected and then storms the field and lays out the ref. I have no words. pic.twitter.com/PbiFYqOes0
— Regulators Podcast 🏈🎙 (@RegulatorsPod) December 4, 2020
“I can’t release any information on that and I apologize for that,” JJ Lejia said. “I hope you understand. I want this (moment) to be about our program and all the other kids we had on the field tonight.” After Garcia was driven to the ground, he was able to get up under his own power and was helped off the field. He was taken to an ambulance where he was evaluated for a potential shoulder injury and concussion-like symptoms. He did not return to the game.
This is not the first time Duron has had an on-field incident. He was suspended for the remainder of the 2019-20 soccer season after a similar incident happened during a match last year against a rival high school. He led the football team in tackles (102) and sacks (eight). Duron was ejected from that game for receiving two consecutive unsportsmanlike penalties. He was originally penalized for shoving an opposing offensive lineman to the round and attempted to make a tackle on the opposing quarterback after the play was blown dead.
Edinburg defeated PSJA 35-21 to clinch a spot in the state playoffs. Edinburg administrators declined to comments on the incident, but Lejia said he was disappointed the incident took over what his team did on the field.
