Former NFL head coach condemns video of ‘horrible’ drill at California high school
A video of a dangerous drill at a high school football practice recently went viral, sparking criticism and outcry from viewers, including a former NFL player and coach, regarding students’ safety.
The video, taken at El Cerrito High School in California, shows a football player being blocked and run over by two other players. Once the player gets back up, two more players knock him down. Then again. And again.
One student told ABC7 that the incident happened in 2019, but that the video only recently gained traction on social media. The video had over 2 million views on Twitter as of Tuesday afternoon.
A spokesperson for West Contra Costa Unified School District confirmed to McClatchy News that the district is aware of the video.
“This behavior is unacceptable and inconsistent with WCCUSD’s values,” the district said in a statement. “The safety of WCCUSD’s students and staff are our top priority and we take these matters very seriously.”
The district is investigating the incident and will “take the appropriate steps pending the investigation’s results,” the statement said.
Nirav Pandya, director of pediatric sports medicine at the University of California San Francisco Children’s Hospital, told NBC Bay Area that the drill looked concerning.
“Any time you are repetitively hit, your body is falling down, there’s a risk of chronic traumatic issues happening, so concussion risks, head injury risks,” Pandya said.
The video drew criticism from former NFL head coach Jim Mora, who called the drills “so far out of line, it’s horrible.”
“Who can ever justify this?” Mora said in a Tweet. “If a coach teaches this, he isn’t someone you should ever allow your kid around. This is horrible.”
“Fire these coaches on the spot,” Adam Snyder, a former player for the San Francisco 49ers, said in a Tweet.
ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit also criticized the behavior in the video, saying it showed “how to make kids quit playing football for the enjoyment of a few idiot little league coaches.”
“Parents do your homework — do not allow your kids to play for coaches that do drills like this,” said Herbstreit, who is also the father of four sons who play football, said in a Tweet.
Jacob Rincon, East Cerrito’s coach, has been put on administrative leave following the surfacing of the video, NBC Bay Area reported.
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 9:26 AM with the headline "Former NFL head coach condemns video of ‘horrible’ drill at California high school."