CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The UIL State Executive Committee decided consequences for the Moody High School girls’ basketball team following a fight at McAllen’s Border Bash tournament on Nov. 17.
The committee agreed to suspend two players from the team, and they also are being excluded from all extracurricular activities for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year.
The fight reportedly was the result of a rebound tussle between opposing players. That Moody player is being punished, along with a second player who left the bench to participate.
“Those girls do not need to be playing basketball this year at all,” he said. “I’m very strong in that (belief).”
A third player who left the bench will be suspended from the basketball team for the remainder of the school year.
3NEWS has chosen to not identify the players because they are minors.
The committee also agreed to public reprimands and 2-year probationary period for the Moody girls basketball team, as well as training for the Moody girls basketball team coaching staff.
McAllen Independent School District marketing and communications director Mark May said two Moody players that were involved in the incident were detained by McAllen ISD Police last week.
They were then handed over to Nueces County Juvenile Detention for processing and released to their parents the same day. The students were charged with Class A assault and the case will be handled by Hidalgo County, since that is where the incident happened.
The fight
In an attempt to add context, Moody head girls coach Myra Nerios told the committee that the whole thing happened in "6 seconds." She said she expected the game's officials to stop the game and call a technical foul in response to the hard rebound that eventually triggered the fight, and that the melee began when she and her assistant coach had their backs turned waiting for the whistle.
Various committee members pointed out that the UIL has protocols in place to avoid bench-clearing brawls during games, and pressed Moody coaches as to how and why the girls were allowed to leave the bench.
"It’s the bench and it’s the players that got this out of control," said committee member Daryl Wade from Houston. "That caused the ruckus."
Members said that per UIL rules, an assistant coach is to be assigned to make sure players on the bench remain there. Nerios said that as the two players ran from the bench, her assistant went after them, and Nerios stayed at the bench to keep others from following.
“I know when you look at the video, I know it’s bad and I do agree with that but being there -- I’m waiting for (the official) to say something," she said. "Because the referees were so passive, that game got so out of control.”
Her reasoning didn't satisfy UIL Executive Director Charles Breithaupt.
“I don’t think they get it," he said. "I don’t think they’re accepting responsibility. I don’t think the coaches understand the gravity of the situation.”
Committee members felt it was important its decision sent a message with its decisions in order to avoid anything similar happening in the future.
“If we see those girls back out on the court, there’s nothing in me that makes me believe that won’t happen again,” Motheral.
A comment that wasn't well-received by the players' parents.
"My daughter was punched and elbowed and she did receive a black eye from it," said one parent. "This attempt to villainize them is absurd to us. They didn’t just go down there as thugs to assault them.”
“They’ve never been ejected from a game," one dad added. "They’re not trouble.”
A team sport
Committee member and Buna ISD Superintendent Tiffany Spicer, who said she also played sports, said, ultimately, it's important for players to understand that their actions don't only affect them.
"When you're playing sports, you're not just playing for you," she said . "It's always bigger than you."
Nerios withdrew the team from the team's remaining two games in the Border Bash tournament immediately following the incident, and games against Alice and Gregory-Portland were cancelled the following Monday and Tuesday. The team also has been withdrawn from the West Oso tournament, taking place during the Christmas break.
CCISD Athletics Director Brenda Marshall apologized to the Laredo ISD, Laredo Nixon staff and players and the UIL for the incident.
“It’s not something that we take lightly, and this is not what we teach our students in CCISD," she said. "We’re just sincerely apologetic.”
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