A New Mexico high school had a video from the 2017 season emerge on social media, and it almost instantly raised new questions about high school football safety. Most directly, even if there are new, more strict regulations within state associations, can the public feel comfortable that they’re being followed?
First, there’s absolutely no proof that anything like the behavior you see in the video below is still taking place at Centennial High School (Las Cruces, N.M.). That being said, there was no reason it should have been taking part in 2017, either.
The action captured below showcases one player taking off at a dead sprint and leveling a teammate in a “tackling drill.” Except it’s less tackling drill than full bore blasting practice; if that hit was delivered during a game, it likely would net a personal foul and possible ejection.
As reported by New Mexico news outlet KQRE, the New Mexico Activities Association “dealt with the incident internally,” when the video first surfaced during the 2017 season. The Las Cruces school district also emphasized that it did not condone the action, either.
Still, the spearing hit has a number of people concerned, with Centennial coach Aaron Ocampo refusing to comment with KQRE questions.
