A Fayette County High School

football player pleaded guilty Monday to roughing up a teammate in what

was described as a hazing ritual back in November.

Jason Watford, 18, pleaded

guilty to simple battery and reckless conduct for striking a teammate

with a weight belt and dragging him around the locker room after the victim

was tied up by two other teammates.

Fayette County State Court

Judge Fletcher Sams sentenced Watford to 20 days in jail with the remainder

of a two-year sentence on probation. Watford was also fined $1,000 and

ordered to attend counseling sessions.

Watford apologized for his

actions during a brief statement but noted that such "hazing"

incidents have gone on for some time.

"With all due respect

to the court, I had no intention of hurting him," Watford said, adding

that he was similarly hazed when he was a freshman. "...I feel like

I've learned a lesson from it. What I did was wrong."

Watford said players have conducted

similar "initiations" before. He also claimed there was no authority

figure present "to tell us what we were doing was wrong."

Sams said he was bothered that

two other participants in the incident had to intervene instead of Watford

stopping on his own.

Those individuals, Jeb Thaxton,

17, and Matthew Hoisington, 18, previously pleaded guilty to reckless

conduct for their part in the incident. They admitted to tying up the

victim's hands and feet before Watford assaulted the victim.

Sams agreed to allow Watford

to serve his jail sentence after school ends for summer break. He also

allowed Watford to be sentenced under the first offender act, which would

allow the guilty plea to be stricken from his criminal record if he successfully

meets all the terms of the sentence.

Solicitor General Steve Harris

read aloud a statement from the victim's parents which asked for an apology

from Watford.

"You are a bully in every

sense of the word," Harris read from the statement. "... You

owe our son an apology."

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