Student suffers severe injuries during ‘punishment’

It took less than 200 yards for Brandon Chacon, 15, to bruise and blister his hands beyond recognition Tuesday. Chacon, taking part in a football drill known as “bear crawls,” is now unable to play football all because of a punishment administered by an assistant coach.

“I think they went too far, too far,” said Melissa Sanchez, mother of Chacon. “He told the coach, ‘Coach, I’m hurting, I’m in a lot of pain.'”

On Tuesday the temperature was around 96 degrees according to ABC-7s meteorological records. Studies done by Penn State University show that turf, like the kind on El Dorado’s new football field, can see temperatures 35-55 degrees hotter than normal grass. Previous studies done by Texas A&M show turf can reach temperature above 160 degrees in the state of Texas.

Chacon is a wide receiver, but it was the quarterback coach that was punishing him, according to the student. It wasn’t a botched catch, or a missed assignment, that led to his punishment, but his falling asleep in another teacher’s class earlier that day.

“After school the coach called me into his office and he was like, ‘Why are you falling asleep in class?'” said Chacon.

Pat O’Neill, Socorro Independent School District’s interim superintendent, said it’s not unusual for a teacher to turn to a coach when a student acts out. According to O’Neil coaches and athletes have a special relationship that can expedite issues students are having in class.

As for this particular incident, he declined to comment on the photograph of Chacon’s injured hands, saying he was looking into it and that an investigation was launched.

Asked whether he had a gut reaction to the images he saw he said, “I’m going to reserve comment until we’ve had a chance to really look into all the facts.”

Sanchez had to remove her son from school on Wednesday because the pain was too severe. A doctor has told him to not consider going back to football practice for at least a week.

Chacon, who said he wished his mother hadn’t spoken up, said he didn’t want to cause a stir. He simply wants to play football, but it appears his classmates don’t feel the same way. According to Sanchez, his son has received threats today from varsity football players telling him not to come to school.