Tepper: San Antonio Jay incident a black eye for Texas high school football

[caption id="attachment_18394" align="alignleft" width="300"]Photo by Robert Martinez Photo by Robert Martinez[/caption] Dave Campbell’s Texas Football occupies a bit of an odd space in the media. Sure, we are journalists first and foremost — things happen, and we report on and analyze them. But there are those who believe that DCTF also has a responsibility to promote Texas high school football, to be the sport’s cheerleader of sorts. I don’t fundamentally disagree with this assertion; after all, the bigger Texas high school football is, the better. But it’s that first part — the whole “being a journalist” thing — that takes precedence, meaning we can’t stick our heads in the sand for the benefit of the sport. Which brings us to the incident at San Antonio Jay, which you’ve almost certainly heard about by now. If not, by all means, check out Ben Baby’s terrific work following the story at the San Antonio Express-News. In short: two players for San Antonio Jay appear on video to be targeting an official, brutally hitting him during a play with what looks like pretty clear intent. The players have been suspended from school and there are multiple investigations from multiple entities forthcoming. The story has been all over national outlets, from CNN to ESPN and everywhere inbetween. Texas high school football is in the spotlight, and for all the wrong reasons. Make no mistake: this is a black eye for the entire sport. There are tens of thousands of coaches and players across the state that represent the sport well every day, who are true assets to Texas high school football. But if this sport is truly the community that we all claim it is, we must all look hard in the mirror and admit that when one does wrong, we’ve all done wrong. San Antonio Jay isn't a prominent program statewide, but that doesn't matter. Texas high school football's image has already been sullied, however temporarily. The offending players — and potentially coaches, as we learned today — will be punished, hopefully severely. And soon, the national eyes will turn away from Texas high school football onto the next story in the news cycle. But this story is another bit of evidence that when you are the best — as Texas high school football truly is — you are held to a different standard, and rightly so. What happened at San Antonio Jay is a black eye for Texas high school football, and the sport — from the administrators to the coaches to the players — must redouble their efforts not only to ensure that something like this never happens again, but to help absolve the stain this incident will inevitably leave. That much is clear, whether you’re a journalist or just a fan.