Ex-John Jay assistant coach Mack Breed put on 18 months probation

SAN ANTONIO -- Mack Breed, the former Texas high school assistant football coach accused of ordering his players to hit a referee during a September game in Marble Falls, Texas, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault charges on Monday.

Breed's sentence of one year in jail with a $3,500 fine was suspended under the terms of a plea agreement, and he will instead serve 18 months probation, Burnet County Attorney Eddie Arredondo said Monday in a news release.

"Mack felt that he made a mistake that evening, and he felt the best thing for him to do was to take responsibility, put it behind him and move forward with his life," said James Reeves, Breed's San Antonio-based attorney.

Breed resigned soon after the Sept. 4 incident and said he was told by school officials he would be fired.

Video of John Jay High School players Michael Moreno and Victor Rojas blindsiding official Robert Wattswent viral and drew national media attention to the San Antonio high school where the two played.

"Investigation regarding others involved in the assault is ongoing, and charges against player Michael Moreno and an unnamed juvenile are expected to be filed shortly," Arredondo said Monday.

"The offenses of assault and aggravated assault are under consideration," Arredondo added. He mentioned by name Moreno, 17, but not Rojas, who was 15 at the time of the incident and is still considered a juvenile under Texas law.

In a September interview with Outside the Lines, Moreno and Rojas expressed regret for their roles in the incident and said it was Breed who ordered them to hit the official in the waning minutes of a physical game John Jay was losing.

Moreno and Rojas said Breed had grown angry about lopsided officiating by Watts and about players on the sideline saying Watts had used racist language.

Watts has denied using racially insensitive language during the game.

"Under the terms of the guilty plea, Mack Breed did not admit he ordered the players to strike the official," Reeves said.

Under Texas law, if a person aids, encourages or directs an individual to commit a crime, that person can also be criminally charged, Reeves said.

In September, Moreno and Rojas were suspended by the Northside Independent School District and ordered to complete the semester in an alternative school. The two will be eligible to return to John Jay High School on Jan. 15.