John Jay Football Players Defend Their Actions In Ref Cheap Shot Video

John Jay football players Victor Rojas and Michael Moreno spoke to Good Morning America recently about why they decided to cheap shot a referee during one of their high school football games.

The initial footage of the attack went viral and made the then-nameless boys the ire of people all across social media.

Their referee victim has also expressed a desire to press charges against the pair, but now they’re speaking out in their defense, and the reasons they’re giving are pretty shocking.

According to the boys, Victor Rojas and Michael Moreno (pictured above, right and left, respectively), they were “doing what we were told” by Assistant Coach Mack Breed, who has been suspended from his duties during the investigation.

Rojas and Moreno spoke to George Stephanopoulos about the incident during the GMA broadcast. They also justified the hit by stating that the referee had been saying racist things throughout the game.

“We’re in America; speak English” and the N-word were among the accusations that the John Jay players hurled at the ref, who flatly denied the accusations.

In the video below, Rojas has been described as “incoherent” by some commenters with a “deer in the headlights” look. He was the player behind the first hit.

Moreno, who handled himself a little better during the interview, said he couldn’t believe that it was happening, and that’s part of the reason he pulled up when coming in for the second hit.

Both boys attest they were told by Breed to take out the ref. Here’s a look at the video as well as the shocking footage.

That second video above — the original — has been viewed on social media more than 10 million times since Sept. 5, 2015.

Many commenters were furious with the cheap shot, with the lion’s share believing Rojas and Moreno should never be allowed to play football again. Some even felt they should be criminally prosecuted.

But the boys do have a few supporters — namely other John Jay students. In a previous report from the Inquisitr, some of these students claimed that if the ref had said racist remarks, then Rojas and Moreno should either be vindicated or not receive as harsh of a punishment.

That’s a line of thinking that most respondents soundly disagreed with, noting that the referee — regardless of what he said — was wearing no pads and standing completely unprotected.

The shot could have easily caused serious injury or even death. But what do you think, readers? Are these John Jay football players justified in their thinking? Sound off in the comments section below.

[Image of John Jay players via GMA screen grab, linked above]