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We know it’s not a pro football issue. But we’ve been following the story ever since a pair of high-school players attacked a game official earlier this month, and there’s been another development.

According to John Barr of ESPN, John Jay High School assistant coach Mack Breed has admitted to the school’s principal that he instructed the two players to hit official Robert Watts.

Robert Harris said, per Barr, that Breed admitted providing the directive.

“Coach Breed told me that he directed the students to make the referee pay for his racial comments and calls,” Harris wrote. “He wanted to take full responsibility for his actions. Mr. Breed at one point during our conversation stated that he should have handled the referee himself.”

Some will say that the kids are still responsible for their actions. Those who would say that likely have never played football while under the age of 18. For a kid under 18 who plays football, what the coach says goes. And if you don’t listen to the coach, you’re no longer on the team.

In this specific case, the kids were probably upset already. Which means it was even more important for the adult to act like an adult.

So, yes, the coach is to blame, not the teenagers. And, yes, the coach should be prosecuted for instigating an assault and for contributing to the delinquency of minors or child endangerment or whatever other laws in Texas may have been violated.