High School Official Goes Viral for Ripping Helmet off Player After Incidental Bump
The governing body for Texas high school sports is investigating the matter, which occurred Friday night in Dallas.
A video showing an incident between an official and a player during a Texas high school football game surfaced on social media Friday night.
The interaction, which occurred during a matchup between Whitney High and Madison High of Dallas, was filmed by the player’s mother from the stands at Seagoville Stadium in Dallas.
The video shows a Whitney player dropping into pass coverage on defense as Madison’s quarterback scrambles out of the pocket. While attempting to pursue the play on the backside, the defender bumped into the umpire in the middle of the field. After the collision, the official ripped off the player’s helmet and threw a penalty flag on the defender.
Then, the umpire ejected the player, according to his mother’s post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“@uiltexas how is this allowed from a ref!!!!!!! And then you eject MY SON and you literally assaulted him!!!!!!! @kwtxsports @kwtx @FoxNews @25NewsKXXV @CoachHaynesJr @WacoTribSports,” Karla Haynes posted.
@uiltexas how is this allowed from a ref!!!!!!! And then you eject MY SON and you literally assaulted him!!!!!!! @kwtxsports @kwtx @FoxNews @25NewsKXXV @CoachHaynesJr @WacoTribSports pic.twitter.com/W2vQQikXmp
— Karla Haynes (@KarlaAHaynes) September 30, 2023
On Saturday, the University Interscholastic League issued a statement that it is looking into the matter.
“The UIL is aware of an incident involving a sports official and a student-athlete during the Whitney vs. Dallas Madison varsity football game last night (Friday, 9/29). This situation is of great concern to us, and we are actively looking into the matter.”
The UIL is aware of an incident involving a sports official and a student athlete during the Whitney vs. Dallas Madison varsity football game last night (Friday, 9/29). This situation is of great concern to us and we are actively looking into the matter.
— Texas UIL (@uiltexas) September 30, 2023
Whitney won the game the 56-28, improving to 5-0 while Madison dropped to 2-4 on the season.
Observers were stunned to see the official’s reaction to what appeared to be an accidental collision.
A referee is in some serious hot water for ripping the helmet off of a player and then penalizing him ????
— Texas Football Life (@txfblife) September 30, 2023
This incident happened during the Whitney @ Dallas Madison game in Seagoville #txhsfb
Via @KarlaAHaynes pic.twitter.com/9NdR8UQ3Wg
Very troubling incident at the Dallas Madison vs Whitney game in Dallas last night. Watch the umpire. @uiltexas investigating. Very bad look by crew. Will be interested to hear the results of inquiry. Very bad look. ???? @KRLDAndrewG https://t.co/WIHcBFvjR3
— John Hendry (@archercomm) September 30, 2023
The dump, even post-dump, would be remiss not to at least amplify this. Whitney vs. Madison. Whitney won 56-28, but this will be the bigger story... https://t.co/R0wco2qR0F
— Matt Diggs (@ProfessorDiggs) September 30, 2023
Dallas Madison's 12th man stepping up against Whitney. ???? @KarlaAHaynes #txhsfb pic.twitter.com/smBirjb1Uv
— Chad (@ChadBlue83) September 30, 2023