Moreno was joined on Good Morning America by a second player involved in the incident, Victor Rojas, who claimed he heard the official tell another player to “speak English, (because) this is America”. “I was doing I was told”. “You need to hit the ref, he needs to pay the price”.
Advertisement
Michael Moreno: “For everything that’s going on in the game, there were racial slurs being thrown from this referee, unjustified calls, you know. A player came and told me that the coach said to, uh, do what happened”.
Officials with the Northside Independent School District tell ABC they plan to file a formal complaint against Watts, while Watts is considering taking legal action against the players.
Video of the incident drew national attention after the footage showed the boys going out of their way to collide with referee Robert Watts, whose back was to the players at the time.
Moreno said similar things about their assistant coach.
Moreno called the incident “one of my biggest regrets” and one he went through only because he trusted Breed as a “grown-up”.
“Everyone sees me as this thug or this gangster, I did this because I’m this bad guy… that’s not who I am”, said Moreno, 17. The attorney for the players will want to cut a deal to keep his clients out of jail, and that may mean Breed will take most of the fall on this attack, if charged and eventually convicted.
The teens and their attorney, Jesse Hernandez, hope the public and officials will go easy on the Honor Society members. The Marble Falls Police also are investigating and the prosecutor in Burnet County has not made a decision.
“I pulled up a lot”, he said. “It’s affecting my life greatly now”.
“You put your trust into a grown-up, your coach who’s been there since my freshman year”.
Breed, who played collegiately at Missouri, has since been placed on administrative leave.
“They have suffered three days of suspension, they have been in alternative school for a week, they are excluded from playing football for the rest of the season”, Hernandez said.
Advertisement
“Without a thought I would”. They have apologized. They are sorry.
