Blood-donating footballers back on team

So, did you hear the one about the six Willis High School football players who were kicked off the team Monday after giving blood? Yeah, it was a weird story — but it turns out the guys are now back on the team, even though they lost their starting positions.

It all started Monday afternoon when the six players donated blood in a school blood drive, then showed up for football practice and were told they were off the team. "The first thing (the coach) said was, 'You're off the team. Your career at Willis High School is over,'" football player Phillip McKenna told KPRC. The coach, Mack Malone, decided to drop the players because they had to sign statements saying they wouldn't engage in physical activity for two or three hours after giving blood — meaning they would have missed Monday's football practice. But today, Malone decided to reinstate the players, even though they're not getting off scot-free:

"He overreacted. He wasn't using the thought process that he tries to teach his kids and thinking things through. It never was about giving blood. It was about coming to practice a little bit late," said Brian Zemlicka, the Willis Independent School District superintendent.

"We did lose our starting positions," Chachem said. "We do have to work and run to get them back, so it's still showing that we're being punished."

But the players' parents told the Chronicle that their kids hadn't been warned not to give blood and were assigned the times they were to make their donations. Though the incident might not affect Willis's team, which hasn't won any games this year, it could screw up some of the players' chances to try for college scholarships.

Malone refused to directly comment on the incident.