Two Texas high schools made headlines over the weekend as a video clip from their football game went viral.
Whitney High School and Dallas James Madison were in the middle of their Friday night game at Dallas ISD’s Seagoville Stadium when Whitney linebacker David “Trey” Haynes III incidentally ran into a referee while trying to make a play.
The official apparently responded by grabbing the player by the facemask, pushing him around, and yanking off his helmet.
As Haynes III reacts and points in shock, the referee launches a penalty flag high in the air and ejects him from the game.
“In this incident, he was tracking the quarterback, and the quarterback was on the other side of the field, and [the referee] ran into him and grabbed his helmet and pulled it off,” Haynes III’s father David Haynes Jr. told Fox 4 KDFW. He is also the head football coach and athletic director at Whitney.
“He said that the official kept bumping him,” Haynes Jr. added. “Like, he was dropping into coverage, and he’d get bumped by the official behind him. So, I was just like, ‘Well, just adjust and go around him.'”
In the video, Haynes III appears to attempt to go around the official, but the two collide anyway. The consequence of being ejected from a game is missing the next one, which in the case of Haynes III means the game against Life Oak Cliff.
“I don’t know what he got thrown out for, but when a kid gets thrown out, they have to miss a game the next week,” explained Haynes Jr. “My son is a senior. Not all his games are guaranteed.”
The University Interscholastic League (UIL), the governing body of high school sports in Texas, has said it is looking into the incident and released the following statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“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 official’s name has not been released, and Whitney went on to win the game 56-28.
On Monday, the UIL released an update regarding the incident on its website.
“The UIL is addressing a concerning incident that occurred during the Whitney vs. Dallas Madison varsity football game on September 29, involving a sports official and a student athlete from Whitney High School,” it read.
“In cooperation with the Texas Association of Sports Officials (TASO), the UIL has taken action to reverse the game ejection of the student athlete from Whitney High School. Additionally, the official involved has been removed from officiating UIL games pending the completion of a thorough investigation.”