DEER PARK, Texas – What started as a routine play at a Friday night football game has turned into a question of whether a coach intentionally hit a student athlete along the sideline.
The moment happened during last Friday’s matchup between Deer Park and Clear Falls when a Deer Park High School player collided with a coach on the opposing team’s sideline.
Video shows Deer Park wide receiver Braylen Cooper running toward the sideline before being sent airborne after contact with someone standing on the Clear Falls side.
That someone wasn’t a player – it was a coach.
“I did not realize until after the game what really happened,” said Brandi Cooper, Braylen Aston-Jackson’s mother. “We knew there was a big impact, but I just thought it was a player. I kept wondering why there was no flag thrown for unnecessary roughness.”
The timing of the incident couldn’t have been worse for Braylen. He had just made it back to the field after spending months recovering from a broken femur – an injury he suffered last season.
While he wasn’t seriously hurt in this sideline collision, his mother says he was visibly dazed after the hit.
Reviewing the footage, Brandi Cooper walked through what she saw:
“He gets the ball, he’s running, running, running, gets pushed out of bounds,” she said. “He [the coach] planted his foot and it kind of went like this and then he immediately stuck out his forearm as soon as my son was right there.”
Clear Creek Independent School District paints a different picture of what happened that night.
In a statement to KPRC 2’s Gage Goulding, the district defended their coach, saying he never meant to harm anyone.
“The safety of all student athletes is our highest priority in the Clear Creek Independent School District. The coach in the video did not intentionally harm a player. This was an unfortunate accidental contact during the game on Friday. As the player was approaching the sideline, the coach was attempting to get out of the way. However, there were players behind him. The video KPRC shared does not show the entire incident. The coach was also knocked to the ground along the crowded sideline. Fortunately, no other athletes were injured and the Deer Park athlete returned to the game. As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we will use this as an opportunity to reinforce with our coaching staff the importance of sideline awareness and proactive efforts to avoid contact with athletes whenever possible.”
Clear Lake ISD Spokesperson
They added that their coach was actually trying to get out of the way but couldn’t – there were players behind him. In fact, the district says their coach ended up on the ground too, something they say isn’t visible in the video that’s been circulating.
Deer Park ISD says they’re working to find a solution.
"Deer Park ISD is aware of questions regarding a play that occurred during Friday’s varsity football game between the Deer Park Deer and the Clear Falls Knights. We have discussed the play with the parent of the student involved as well as with Clear Creek ISD. We look forward to a reasonable resolution to the matter."
Deer Park ISD Spokesperson
For Brandi Cooper, this isn’t just about one incident – it’s about preventing future ones.
“It needs to be handled,” she insisted. “Clear Falls needs to take action to prevent anybody else from going through this or getting injured.”
It looks like changes might be coming.
Clear Creek ISD says they’re using this incident as a teaching moment, promising to “reinforce with our coaching staff the importance of sideline awareness and proactive efforts to avoid contact with athletes whenever possible.”