East Bay school district investigating viral video at El Cerrito
The West Contra Costa Unified School District has launched a full investigation after a video surfaced recently showing football players believed to be from one of the district’s high schools participating in a dangerous drill.
The district called the behavior “unacceptable and inconsistent with WCCUSD’s values.”
In a statement emailed to the Bay Area News Group by district spokesperson Raechelle Forrest, the district added, “The safety of WCCUSD’s students and staff are our top priority and we take these matters very seriously. The district is currently conducting a full investigation, and we will take the appropriate steps pending the investigation’s results.”
Two students told ABC7 News that the video was from an El Cerrito High School practice. One of the students said the video was shot in 2019.
It is unclear if the players were on varsity or a lower level.
A text message and phone call to El Cerrito varsity coach Jacob Rincon was not immediately returned. Rincon is in his fifth season leading the varsity team. The Gauchos are 4-2 this fall and ranked 16th by the Bay Area News Group.
The video, which was posted on Twitter by @ FootbaIl_Tweets, has 2.1 million views and caused outrage within the football community.
It shows one player being hit by two teammates. The player got up and was immediately hit by two more teammates. The player got up again and two more teammates hit him. The fourth time the player got up and was hit again by two more teammates, he remained on the ground as the video ended.
Warning: The video includes profane language.
https://platform.twitter. com/widgets.js
ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, tweeted, “What is this drill called??? 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. This IS NOT FOOTBALL !!!! Fire the coaches immediately!!”
Former NFL and UCLA head coach Jim Mora tweeted, “This is so far out of line, it’s horrible. Who can ever justify this? If a coach teaches this, he isn’t someone you should EVER allow your kid around. This is horrible.”
Sean Salisbury, a former USC and NFL quarterback, was just as upset, tweeting, “I wanna line up the coaches one by one on this team and teach them a lesson.”
Darren Carr, brother of Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and a high school football coach himself, tweeted, “Child Abuse.”