FIGHT CLUB...?

High School Student: Participation ‘Was Not Optional’ in Football Brawls

The fights, caught on video and now part of a lawsuit, were allegedly part of a hazing ritual sanctioned by a coach.

Two Oklahoma high school football players appear to have engaged in a brutal, coach-sanctioned brawl that lasted one minute, according to video evidence obtained by KFOR. One of the two students, both freshmen at Kingfisher High School, wore boxing gloves, while the other had towels taped to his hands, the 2018 video shows. The footage came to light after it was used as evidence in a federal lawsuit—filed last year by a former student and football player—against Kingfisher School District and the coach who allegedly sanctioned these fights regularly. A student in 2021 told investigators that “participation was not optional” and that the fights were part of a hazing ritual, according to KFOR.