The Texas high school coach accused of telling two players to tackle an allegedly racist ref has been sacked by the law.
Mack Breed was charged Monday with misdemeanor assault and later pleaded guilty for his role in the attack on referee Robert Watts, the Burnet County Attorney's office said in a statement.
Breed, who resigned from his post as assistant coach of the John Jay High School team in San Antonio after two of his players were caught on camera blindsiding Watts, was sentenced to a year in jail and slapped with a $3,500 fine.
But under a deal with prosecutors, Breed's sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation for 18 months. He has to surrender his teaching certificate, complete an anger management program, do 120 hours of community service, and pay restitution to Watts.
Prosecutors are also preparing to charge the players who tackled Watts during a Sept. 4 game — Michael Moreno, 17, and a unnamed 15-year-old, their statement says.
Watt's lawyer, Alan Goldberger, declined to comment on the sentence and said they will continue to cooperate with the investigation. He also denied that Watts, a 14-year veteran referee, used any racial slurs.
"It has already been established that there is no truth to those allegations of racial remarks," Goldberger said in an email. "Nor do any allegations provide a justification for the attacks on Mr. Watts."
Breed, 29, told school officials that he ordered the players to go after Watts for using racial slurs and making what he considered bad calls, ESPN first reported.
Breed's attorney, James Reeves, released a statement in which he said the coach was told by a player that Watts insulted him.
"As a black male, nothing offended Mack Breed more than being called a racial epithet except someone in a position of authority calling his players racial epithets," Reeves wrote.
He added that while Breed was angry about what was being said during the game, he "never explicitly told" the two players to hit the referee.
The video posted to YouTube of Watts getting tackled has been viewed more than 11 million times.
