Referee who took helmet off Whitney HS football player will not officiate during investigation, UIL says

Ref grabs player's facemask, causing helmet to come off

The UIL said it is "looking into" an incident between a player and referee at a high school football game in North Texas Friday night in which video shows the referee grab onto the player’s facemask, causing his helmet to come off.

A referee who grabbed a Whitney High School football player's facemask, causing his helmet to come off, will not officiate any more games until the UIL completes an investigation into the incident.

Video of the incident was shared with FOX 4 from Friday night's game between Whitney High School and Dallas ISD’s Madison High School at Seagoville Stadium Henry Field.

The footage shows a linebacker dropping back into coverage, before making accidental contact with the ref. The ref then pushes him away to the left, before the player reverses field, following the ball, and makes contact with the referee again.

The ref then grabs the player’s facemask, and both appear to try to get their balance back, and the player’s helmet comes off, with the referee holding onto it after it comes off.

The player, Trey Haynes, was ejected from the game following the altercation.

The UIL announced on Monday that Haynes' ejection has been reversed.

In the same statement the UIL added, "the official involved has been removed from officiating UIL games pending the completion of a thorough investigation."

Whitney ended up winning the game 56-28.