Texas high school athlete facing assault charge in ref attack is now suspended by UIL
EDINBURG, Texas — A Texas high school football player who ran onto the field and blindsided a referee who had ejected him from a game has now learned that the attack will cost him the rest of his high school athletic career.
Senior defensive lineman Emmanuel Duron of Edinburg High School, who faces assault charges in court and was responsible for his team being taken out of the playoffs, is now banned by the University Interscholastic League from competing in athletics for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
The District 31-6A Defensive Player of the Year last season, Duron also is the Bobcats’ kicker and punter and a star wrestler.
He was expected to compete for a state wrestling championship in the spring, but that won't happen now.
Earlier this month, Duron came running from the sideline area after the referee announced his ejection, slamming into the official during the first half of the zone play-in game against Pharr-San Juan-Alamo.
The referee was evaluated for a concussion by medical personnel at the stadium.
Duron was escorted from the stadium by police officers and later was charged in municipal court with class A assault, a misdemeanor.
The game resumed after a delay, with Edinburg winning 35-21 to advance to the playoffs. However a day later, the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District decided to remove the team from the playoffs after the attack.