'Huge for these victims': Former Ringling football coach sued in federal court

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Nearly a year after allegations of abuse started circling the Ringling school district and its high school head football coach, Philip Koons, a federal lawsuit has been filed.

"It's huge for these victims. It's a huge day. They've been waiting on it since February. For them, it's a big deal. They're happy to see it starting to move forward as well as the parents," said an attorney representing the alleged victims, Tod Mercer.

The Defendants named in the lawsuit include:

• Philip Koons (Former Ringling High School Principal and Head Football Coach)
• Kent Southward (Current Ringling Public Schools Superintendent)
• Sterling Koons (Current Ringling High School teacher and Assistant Football Coach)
• Cooper Koons (Current Assistant Football Coach)
• Ringling Public Schools

"With regard to Cooper Koons and Sterling Koons, they were complicit with their father in the abuse and discrimination that went on in the Ringling program. They were right there with it. Unfortunately, many of the boys have stories to tell. Cooper Koons or Sterling Koons were involved in all the different things: verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and especially mental abuse and racial discrimination," stated Mercer.

The lawsuit alleges Ringling Public Schools has failed to provide a safe learning environment since Koons was hired as the Ringling High School Principal and Head Football Coach in 2018.

"Since 2018, the Ringling School District has maintained an athletic program that condones and encourages child abuse, hazing, bullying, grooming, and disregard for civil rights," the lawsuit reads.

According to a former player's parent, Koons allegedly made players exercise naked in front of him.

Court records indicate the Ringling school district was aware of previous allegations surrounding Koons out of Tuttle and Clinton when he was hired.

The lawsuit accuses Koons of pulling down his trousers and exposing his genitalia to the Tuttle High School football team in 2016, saying, "Boys, this is a di*k. You gotta have one of these to play football."

Koons reportedly resigned from coaching in Tuttle shortly after.

"The Ringling Board of Education and the Superintendent Kent Southward were deliberately indifferent to Coach Koons’ abusive treatment of players and students and did nothing to prevent him from further abuse," claim court records.

Ringling Public Schools allegedly didn't alert the State Department of Human Services nor the State Department of Education of the allegations until Koons was temporarily suspended in February 2023.

OSBI then began an investigation into Koons. Its report revealed seven alleged victims.

Based on the OSBI's report, Koons was charged with a misdemeanor count of 'Outraging Public Decency' in October.

'Outraging Public Decency' holds a maximum jail sentence of a year.

Koons has yet to be formally arrested, but did voluntarily participate in a walk through of the Jefferson County Detention Center on January 2.

Koons also appeared in court for a last minute arraignment hearing that same day.

He plead 'No Contest' which carries the same weight as a guilty plea.

His attorney, Shelby Shelton and the prosecutor agreed on a seven year deferred sentence. That would mean Koons would be unable to teach, coach, consult on sports, or have contact with the Ringling school district during that time.

As part of the plea bargain, the prosecutor stated they would not pursue additional charges unless new evidence was presented.

One of the additional charges included a felony count of child abuse, according to the prosecutor.

While the Jefferson County Judge accepted Koons' plea, he rejected the plea bargain.

Koons is set to appear back in court March 12 at 9 a.m. for a blind plea where the Judge will hand out a sentence.

News 4 asked Koons a handful of questions on his way out of the courtroom last week.

The only response KFOR received was "Happy New Year."

News 4 also asked Shelton for an on-camera interview, but he declined and said they weren't ready to share their side of the story yet.

The federal lawsuit indicates not only should Koons be held liable, but also the school district as a whole because "[the Ringling school district] is responsible for the acts and omissions of its employees, including its administrators, during the course and scope of their employment."

The lawsuit claims the Ringling school district violated the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. The school district is also accused of violating Title IX.

"I think part of the justice is getting their stories out there and having people believe them," said Mercer. "They did what adults teach them to do. They reported abuse. And then the adults attacked them for it. Half the town came after them on social media. They were sleeping with guns in their beds, worried about their own safety and the safety of their parents after this thing was disclosed."

A jury trial has been demanded in this federal case which means the attorneys representing the nine Plaintiffs are requesting the case be tried by peers and not the court.

News 4 has reached out to Shelton several times since Thursday, but hasn't heard back.

The next step in this lawsuit is a months-long discovery process, according to Mercer.

While Koons is set for the blind plea in March, Mercer said regardless of the outcome, it will not change the lawsuit.

He's hoping the lawsuit will be the first step in change for the Ringling school district, justice for the victims, and more accountability in other schools.

"There's more of this out there. Other schools need to be watching and be very aware of what's happening to these abusive coaches," said Mercer. "It's just another situation where we want to send a message to Ryan Walters to do his job. He claims he's protecting students, but he's talking about culture wars and things that really aren't even in our schools. He's not protecting students from real abusers like Mr. Koons and his sons and the Ringling School District. When this came up, they should have been down there, grilling the school district, trying to figure out what in the world was going on and Ryan Walters would not turn his investigators loose to investigate this case."