Emmanuel Duron Arrested on Assault Charge; Edinburg HS out of Texas Playoffs

Edinburg High School is out of the Texas state football playoffs after a star defensive lineman for the school attacked a referee Thursday night, resulting in his arrest. 

Per ESPN, Edinburg senior defensive lineman Emmanuel Duron was ejected from Thursday's game against Pharr-San Juan-Alamo for unsportsmanlike conduct. In response, Duron charged at referee Fred Gracia and knocked him over:

According to TMZ, Duron was arrested Friday for "assault causing bodily injury." His bond was set at $10,000. 

Duron was escorted off the field by police officers and Gracia was evaluated for a potential concussion and shoulder injury as a result of the assault.

Edinburg won the game 35-21 to qualify for the playoffs, but the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District (h/t Matt Howe of 247Sports), released a statement Friday, announcing the district removed Edinburg from the playoffs as a result of Duron's actions:

"The district has decided to remove the Edinburg High School football team from the playoffs after an unexpected incident involving a student that occurred during a football game on December 3, 2020. We extend a sincere apology to the referee and his family. On behalf of the Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees and administration, we apologize to the athletes, staff, and our school community. "We will take the appropriate disciplinary action once we understand the facts and circumstances underlining this incident. The district takes these matters very seriously; however, we cannot comment further on a pending investigation."

The Texas Association of Sports Officials is investigating the incident, and ESPN's Tom VanHaaren tweeted the TASO's statement on the matter:

Per Andrew McCulloch of The Monitor, Thursday was not the first time Duron went after an official, as he previously did so during a soccer match, which resulted in him being suspended for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

In football, Duron was named the District 31-6A Defensive Player of the Year last season, and he also serves as the team's kicker and punter.