A California football player is issuing an apology for striking and apparently knocking out a referee during a game. Bernard Schirmer was bailed out of the Ventura County Jail yesterday, one day after video showed him knocking the referee out cold with a punch during a game at Ventura College.
Schirmer tells the "Ventura County Star" he didn't mean to hit the referee and didn't even realize it was his hand that had punched the man until much later. He says he was trying to hit himself in the helmet to calm himself down after a skirmish during the game.
Schirmer was ejected from the game and could face a long ban from football. Mount San Antonio College officials, though, believe Schirmer's punch was unintentional after reviewing the tape. It'll be up to the Ventura County D.A.'s Office to decide whether to charge the young man with battery.