Video shows Celina HS football player stomping on opponent's ankle
NEVADA, Texas - School officials say a high school quarterback was disciplined after video shows him stomping on an opponent’s ankle during a football game.
Both Celina High School and Community High School define what is seen on the video as ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ and both schools are now trying to put the incident behind them.
The video was taken during the third quarter of the Celina vs. Community HS in Nevada, Texas, last Friday night. Celina quarterback Conner Pingleton, No. 6, walked over to a player on the ground and stepped on his leg and then stomped on his ankle.
As the play ends and players come off the pile, the injured community HS player on the ground can be seen grabbing his ankle while one of his teammates appears to try and let the referee know what happened.
The severity of the moment was unknown to both coaches until it hit social media over the past couple of days.
Community HS Coach Jeremy Turner said despite what you might read on social media, their player's ankle was not broken. Turner said the player participated in practice this week and will play in their game this Friday. He also received a call from the Celina coach, apologizing for the incident.
The video already had Community High students talking.
"They were just talking crap about how it's like really bad sportsmanship from Celina, like them coming to Community and that happening,” said student Destiny Diaz.
Celina Coach Bill Elliott said he found out about the incident Tuesday night and immediately addressed it after. He says Pingleton is disappointed in his actions and has been disciplined already. Elliot said it’s the first time he’s seen this with one of his players in his 25 years of coaching. He said it’s an unfortunate incident that he’ll use it as a teachable moment for the rest of the team.
Community ISD released a statement saying it is disappointed in the actions of the Celina player but has faith in Celina ISD and its football program to discipline the player accordingly.