Social media users have been shocked this week by a video showing a high school football player tackling a referee.

According to a report by news.com.au, the incident in question occurred at a game between two Texan teams - Edinburg High School Bobcats and Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High Bears.

Although Edinburg managed a 35-21 win to make the playoffs, the most memorable moment of the match occurred when Edinburg senior defensive lineman Emmanuel Duron ran onto the field and put a massive hit on a referee.

Take a look at this footage of the incident recorded at the game: 

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Per news.com.au, Duron (Edinburg's district defensive player of the year and the team’s kicker and punter) tackled the referee after the official announced that Duron had been disqualified.

Duron had attempted to make a tackle on PSJA High freshman quarterback Jaime Lopez after the whistle had blown.

According to The Monitor of McAllen, 58-year-old referee Fred Gracia had to be treated for concussion symptoms by paramedics, and Duron was forcibly restrained by coaches and teammates before being escorted from the field of play by police officers.

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Suffice it to say, when footage of the incident was shared on social media, Duron was widely condemned by sports fans.

For instance, one Twitter user wrote: "Wow just wow. This is from a HIGH SCHOOL football game?! I’m disgusted. [sic]"

Meanwhile, someone else added: "I have never seen anything like this happen while covering high school or professional sports in 20 years. wow! [sic]"

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In a later statement made to The Monitor, Edinburg High head football coach JJ Lejia declined to comment on the incident directly, stating:

"I hope you understand. I want this (moment) to be about our program and all the other kids we had on the field tonight.

"Defensively, we had some breakdowns but we have a young secondary. We can’t use that as an excuse because we’re already this deep into the season."  

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He added:

"But they’re 15 years old and we’re trying to do the best we can. The kids were playing hard and I couldn’t ask for anything else."

The Monitor reports that Duron was suspended for the remainder of the 2019-20 soccer season after a similar incident during a match against crosstown rival Edinburg Vela.

A horrific late hit in a college football game has been met with dismay on social media.

According to USA Today, the incident in question was captured on camera in a game between the Toledo Rockets and the Northern Illinois Huskies.

Defensive end Terrance Taylor can be seen putting a helmet-to-helmet hit on quarterback Ross Bowers when he was on his knees on the pitch, in a dangerous move that could have caused serious injury.

Check out this toe-curling footage of the incident below:

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In the above footage, which was recorded in the third quarter of Northern Illinois' 31-28 win, Bowers can be seen keeping the ball on a read-option play and rolling out to the left. But after slipping on the Glass Bowl's FieldTurf surface, he popped up to his knees. Then Taylor can be seen sprinting in and making a helmet-to-helmet hit from behind.

Luckily, the quarterback wasn’t badly injured in the incident. Taylor was initially called for a personal foul for the collision before the play was reviewed, the call was changed to targeting, and he was ejected from the game.

Watch another clip of the tackle right here: 

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This incident has occurred just a few weeks after Oakland Raiders player Vontaze Burfict end up suspended for the remainder of the 2019/2020 season after the linebacker badly hurt Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle in September.

Check out some of the reactions to the foul on social media:

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Elsewhere in football, the NFL has reportedly arranged a private workout for Colin Kaepernick, with all teams in the league invited to attend. Kaepernick will go through a workout and an interview in a bid to prove his match-readiness after some time out of the game following his protest of police brutality in America.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ highly anticipated season debut got off to a chaotic and controversial start Sunday night when star defensive lineman Jalen Carter was ejected just six seconds into the game for a disrespectful act towards Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Incident unfolds before first defensive snap

The drama began immediately after the opening kickoff of the Eagles’ 24-20 win. As Philadelphia trainers tended to an injured player on the field, Carter walked toward Prescott and appeared to spit directly on his chest, per a widely-circulated video on X. Officials threw an unsportsmanlike conduct flag, and Carter was disqualified before even taking his first defensive snap.

Referee Shawn Smith later explained to a pool reporter that an official had directly observed Carter spitting, calling it a “disqualifiable foul” since it was a “non-football act.”

Shock from broadcasters and fans

NBC’s broadcast team was stunned by the ejection, with play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico audibly reacting in the moment.

“Whoa, whoa,” Tirico said. “First of all, I got no idea what he’s thinking, and second, this is massive in terms of the game.”

Analyst Cris Collinsworth emphasized the impact of Carter’s absence on the Eagles’ defense.

“He’s the best player they have on their defense and about 80 percent of what we were gonna talk about on this broadcast,” Collinsworth said. “To beat the Eagles, you have to double-team Jalen Carter. If you don’t, your offense doesn’t get started. Losing him is almost like the Cowboys losing Micah Parsons, same impact.”

Carter responds to ejection

After the game, Carter acknowledged the mistake and insisted it would not happen again.

“I heard the refs talking,” Carter told reporters. “They said this is a toss-able offense, something like that. So that’s when I knew.”

The incident may not have been entirely one-sided. Cameras later showed Prescott appearing to spit in Carter’s direction shortly before Carter’s retaliation. Prescott also appeared to smile toward Carter after the exchange, though officials only penalized the Eagles star.

Rising star sidelined by controversy

Carter, 23, was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and quickly established himself as one of the league’s most disruptive defensive linemen. He posted 42 tackles and 4.5 sacks last season, earning a Pro Bowl nod while helping Philadelphia reach the Super Bowl.

His absence now leaves a hole in new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s lineup as the Eagles aim to return to championship contention.

Chaotic start to Eagles' season

The bizarre moment capped an already messy start for Philadelphia. Fullback Ben VanSumeren suffered a knee injury on the opening kickoff and had to be carted off the field, per CBS News. While trainers were assisting him, Carter approached Prescott, exchanged words, and then committed the act that led to his swift ejection.

Despite the setback, the Eagles managed to rally and secure a narrow 24-20 victory over their NFC East rivals.

Featured image credit: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images.

A Tennessee lawmaker has apologized after he was kicked out of his son's high school basketball game for laying his hands on the referee.

Jeremy Faison - a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives - took to Twitter to express his sincere regret, admitting he had "acted the fool" and "lost his temper".

In a video of the dustup posted to social media, the lawmaker appears to try and pull down the referee's pants - or 'pants' him.

The game between Providence Academy and Lakeway Christian Academy took place on Tuesday. Faison attended to support his son who is on the Lakeway team but ended up stealing the show when he got into an argument over decisions.

Thanks to a live stream of the event, the whole incident was captured on video.

Faison can initially be seen sitting in the stands. When players hit the ground in the third quarter, a brief scuffle between the teams breaks out.

The lawmaker can then be seen heading down to the court to confront the referee over his decisions. According to a report provided by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, Faison was told to leave the court - but wasn't having it.

"You can’t tell me to leave the floor this was your fault," he said, per The Guardian, jabbing a finger in the ref's face and squaring up to him.

Faison can then be seen grabbing the referee's pants and seemingly trying to tug them down. But the pants stay put and Faison hurriedly walks away.

He was subsequently kicked out of the game.

In an apology message posted to Twitter, Faison described his actions as "embarrassing", writing: "For years I thought how wrong it is when a parent loses their temper at a sporting event. It's not Christian and it's not mature and it's embarrassing to the child."

He continued: "Unfortunately, I acted the fool tonight and lost my temper on a ref. I was wanting him to fight me. Totally lost my junk and got booted from the gym.

"I’ve never really lost my temper but I did tonight and it was completely stupid of me.

"Emotions getting in the way of rational thoughts are never good. I hope to be able to find the ref and ask for his forgiveness. I was bad wrong."

Faison has been the House caucus chairman for Republicans since 2019, making him among the most influential individuals in the House, The Guardian reports.

His childish behavior drew criticisms from Knoxville Democrat Gloria Johnson, who tweeted on Wednesday that "'Pantsing' a ref on the gym floor is next level bullying… not even the stuff of middle school locker rooms."

Featured Image Credit: PhotoAlto / Alamy

We all know that Patrick Mahomes is incredibly talented, and it turns out that even the Super Bowl referees know how good he is as they were caught discussing his talents on the field.

For anyone who has avoided social media lately, the Super Bowl took place on Sunday which saw the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers go head-to-head.

In what was a thrilling contest, the game went into overtime and the Chiefs eventually took the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy home after winning 25-22.

Aside from Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, one man stole the spotlight once again as Patrick Mahomes showed the world why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the sport right now.

Anyone who is into football knows how good Mahomes is, and that includes the referees who were captured discussing the quarterback during the game.

Allegations of biased officiating have dogged the Chiefs, with critics attributing their dominance to referee favoritism towards Mahomes.

Critics point to instances where Mahomes seemingly receives favorable calls, dismissing opposing claims as mere sour grapes from rival fans. They argue that such accusations lack evidence, often relying on selective video clips that could be applied to any quarterback in the league.

Audio snippets from Mahomes' pivotal performance against the San Francisco 49ers shed new light on the officials' perspective. In a brief exchange captured on tape, referee Bill Vinovich is heard advising the 49ers: "Your best play that you have in your book right now... Because you don't want to give Mahomes the ball back."

The clip has stirred fresh controversy, prompting varied reactions from football enthusiasts. While some view the comments as damning evidence of biased officiating, others argue that refs talk like this all the time.

"Even the refs knew you can’t give Mahomes the ball back," one person said, while a second added: "Just shows that the refs enjoy a great game also! They had the best seat in the house!"

Nevertheless, interpretations of Vinovich's statement vary widely. While some interpret it as favoritism towards Mahomes, others argue that it shows the officials' impartiality by emphasizing the need for strategic gameplay to counter Mahomes' talents.

This wasn't the only thing that sparked people to believe that the Super Bowl was rigged, as some believed that the entire game was tipped in Taylor Swift's favor.

"49ers deserved that win. It’s so rigged I hope you guys can see it for what it is, truly rigged. Chiefs you guys got so lucky Taylor swift bailed you guys out," wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter.

"TAYLOR SWIFT WINNING THE SUPER BOWL AND YOU DONT THINK THIS IS RIGGED?" added another.

There is obviously no evidence that the game was rigged.

Featured image credit: Ryan Kang/Getty