Two High School Football Players In Texas Got Suspended For Intentionally Blindsiding An Official

NISD athletic dept confirms the 2 John Jay HS football players who violently collided with a referee are suspended from the team. #kens5news

— Sharon Ko (@SharonKoTV) September 6, 2015

I go to be honest here. As someone that has made countless threats of physical violence to officials, I originally found this video hysterical. No, it's not right to intend to injury someone when they are not only vulnerable, but also unprotected and defenseless, but in the interest of full disclosure? Yes, I Iaughed when I saw it, and I had to voluntarily stop myself from laughing when I saw it again. That may make me a bad person, but hey, that's just par for the course.

Upon further reflection, however, I got to say I hate these two kids for taking the term "abuse of an official" to unforeseen lengths. Whether you participate in football or not, I think we can agree that officiating is an extremely thankless job. As much as we criticize referees when calls don't go our way, when we separate ourselves from the emption of the game, we can admit that being aware of everything that goes on the football field is a pretty difficult responsibility. That, however, doesn't change the fact that many times they are wrong. 

Doesn't matter what sport, or who was blowing the whistle, every game is littered with bad calls. However, in a way, bad calls are a blessing. It's a very under appreciated stat, but I am actually undefeated in organized competition when it's been officiated flawlessly. Every time I have ever lost I could point to a specific wrongdoing by the man teething at his whistle as if it were his mother's nipple, and there hasn't ever been a time when I was unjust in doing so. We, as a society, need that scapegoat. We need someone to blame. We need someone that makes us look like we are being victimized. The second we start assaulting officials is the second they become the victim, and Chris Carter told me I can't lose that fall guy in my life.


It's one thing to tell a referee you are going to kill him. It's a whole different story when you actually try to fulfill that threat. We can't have athletes following through on threats, and thus making referees sympathetic figures. Imagine if you had to consummate every disgraceful thing you've said to a referee. I would have skull-fucked so many unsuspecting wives that it would make Bill Cosby blush. I would have burnt so many houses to the ground that my actions would make a Slim Shady album sound safe for church. I would have been responsible for more random strokes and heart attacks than the entire McDonald's franchise. I don't need that shit on my conscious. I prefer my abuse of the verbal variety that way I can maintain my innocence, as well as my record for never having lost a game based on my own personal performance.