WATCH: 'Fight Club' video shows alleged coach-sanctioned brawl between high school players
New video evidence shows two Oklahoma high school football players duking it out in an alleged coach-sanctioned brawl.
KINGFISHER, Okla. (KFOR) - New video evidence shows two high school football players duking it out in an alleged coach-sanctioned brawl at Kingfisher High School in Oklahoma.
The video, taken by another player on the sidelines during a so-called "ring" fight between two freshman in 2018, is now part of a lawsuit.
The fight, which can be viewed above, lasted less than one minute. The video has been blurred to protect the identities of the minors involved.
In the clip, one student is seen wearing MMA boxing gloves while the other had towels taped to his hands.
"Kick his f-----g a--," one teammate yelled at the start of the video.
The player with boxing gloves was quickly punched to the ground.
That video has become key evidence in a federal lawsuit filed against the Kingfisher school district and the head football coach who allegedly allowed these fights to happen regularly.
This lawsuit was filed in January 2022 by a former KHS student and football player who is identified as John Doe in court documents.
The head football coach is accused of allowing these fights as part of a hazing ritual.
During a then-student interview in 2021, he told investigators "participation was not optional" when it came to "The Ring."
"For instance, if players were angry at another player due to something that happened at practice that day, they would make them fight in the locker room. The coaches would watch, egg it on and laugh about it," reads a statement the student provided to investigators.
"If you had some type of run-in with a senior player, you had to go in the ring and fight. The Ring was for other people's enjoyment, specifically the coach's enjoyment," documents read.
The lawsuit also details a player who was forced into "The Ring" until he could no longer move, as well as another player who walked away with a black eye.
"He had to go home and tell his parents that a football hit him because he was afraid that they would go up to the school and complain if they knew the truth," the student told officials in 2021. "[He] worried he would be hazed even worse."
The lawsuit even claims football coaches would occasionally hop into the box to fight their players.
"On at least one occasion, a coach got in the Ring and wrestled a student himself while other coaches watched. Before getting into the Ring that day, the Coach, who referred to this player as a 'f----t,' told the players to 'put your f-----g phones away.' The mismatch only ended when the Coach had placed the weaker player into a headlock and forced him to 'tap out' or suffer greater injury. That player later quit the program," said John Doe's lawyers.
The coach also allegedly told his players what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.
The lawsuit claims these fights were pre-scheduled and coach-sanctioned.
John Doe alleged he was forced into these brawls 90% of the time and was frequently choked by other football players to the point of nearly passing out.
The lawsuit accuses those coaches involved of occasionally placing wagers on the outcome of the fights.
John Doe said he also suffered abuse through wet towel beatings, close-range shooting of pellet and paint guns, plus much more.
Often times, John Doe claims he would be beat with a wet towel while in the locker room showers. He would be naked, defenseless, and vulnerable.
A little over a year ago the Kingfisher school district rejected John Doe’s settlement demand of $1.5 million.
John Doe’s lawyers have now sent the district and coach’s team of attorneys a new settlement demand of $5 million, and the firing of the coach. The offer was sent to the school district’s attorneys Wednesday.
From the moment the letter was received, the offer will be valid for 14 days. If the offer expires, the demand will increase to $10 million and the firing of the coach.
If the school district allows both offers to expire, John Doe’s attorneys plan to take the case to trial.
The coach, who has not been arrested or charged in this case, is still employed with Kingfisher Public Schools.
As of Monday morning, he still has an Oklahoma teaching license and is listed on the district's website as the 2023 head football coach.
The school district will host a Board of Education meeting Monday night at 7. On their agenda is the topic of John Doe's settlement demand and the coach's job.
Nexstar's KFOR reached out to the coach's and school district's attorneys for additional comment, but have not heard back.