Football coach seen shoving player in brawl video on leave from Oklahoma high school

An Oklahoma coach was placed on leave after a brawl erupted during a high school football game, officials said.

The fight broke out between Clinton and El Reno high schools during a Friday night scrimmage, with video capturing players running onto the field, shoving and throwing a helmet. In a video obtained by KFOR, a coach can be seen shoving a player across the field just before the brawl began.

In a joint statement on Monday, the school districts said they’re coordinating an investigation of the “unacceptable conduct and fighting.”

A Clinton assistant coach was put on paid leave during the investigation. The coach’s name wasn’t released.

“There is nothing more important to both of our districts than the safety of our students, and we are grateful there were no significant injuries,” superintendents Tyler Bridges from Clinton and Craig McVay from El Reno said in the statement. “Unsportsmanlike conduct and violence are unacceptable. We are working to determine what role representatives of both teams played in the incident, and we will hold them appropriately accountable for their behavior.”

Kim Sparks told KFOR that her son was pushed by a coach from Clinton and she wants him to be fired.

“I was highly upset,” Sparks told the news outlet. “Seeing a grown man basically assault my son.”

El Reno head coach Chuck Atchison said the initial disagreement was nearly resolved when the fight started.

“Now that I look back and see the video, I understand why our kids went to his defense,” Atchison told KFOR. “Hopefully we can just put it behind us and learn from it.”