A high school quarterback from Oregon was suspended from school this week after school officials determined he “inappropriately touched” a teammate. That teammate was the center.
Freshman quarterback Garrett Moore told the Statesman Journal on Thursday that he is “so pissed right now I can’t even think straight.” West Salem High School principal Ken Phillips said he could not discuss the incident in detail because it is a disciplinary ruling.
The incident in question took place during a practice on Oct. 2, when Moore claims he had to take a snap from a center he previously had some personal issues with. Moore says the teammate, who had pushed him down earlier in practice, encouraged him to stick his hands way up between his legs to take the snap.
“He wanted me to go way up there and it felt very uncomfortable,” Moore said. “I was, like, moving my hands and I touched him and he started laughing. I guess I tickled him. I wouldn’t mean to. That’s kind of weird.”
Moore says the center switched to defensive line after a few plays and another center took his place. Moore claims the player then walked toward him after a play and kneed him in the crotch.
“He acted like he was giving me a hug and he kneed me in my crotch,” Moore explained. “He said that he did that because I spat on his shoe, even though he was five feet in front of me.”
Moore was called out of class to speak with assistant principal Jim Miller on Oct. 6. Miller asked Moore if he “tickled” the other student during practice while taking a snap.
“I’m like, ‘I guess,'” Moore said. “He was laughing when I touched him. I didn’t mean to say tickle. I said tickle because he laughed.”
After supposedly receiving a different version of the story from the other player, Miller sent Moore home and suspended him for three days for “inappropriately touching another student during football practice.”
“He calls my mom, makes it sound like I’m a complete pervert and she comes to get me,” Moore said.
Moore’s mother, Tamara Moore, said the incident “sounds absolutely absurd” and that she plans to appeal the suspension.
We have told you about some disturbing incidents on the high school football field recently, but this situation is just plain bizarre. Unless there is more to the story, it seems like a typical feud among high school boys got taken to an unnecessary level.
H/T CBS Local Sports
Photo via West Salem High School on Facebook
