Kingfisher (Okla.) High School head coach Jeff Myers is facing a felony charge of child neglect as part of a sprawling hazing scandal within the football program's locker room.
Myers was one of four people charged Tuesday. He was placed on leave on Wednesday.
“Nothing is more important to Kingfisher Public Schools than the safety, health and well-being of our students,” Kingfisher superintendent David Glover said in a statement provided to The Oklahoman. “As a school district, we reaffirm our commitment to provide a welcoming, respectful and safe environment for every student and student athlete.”
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has been investigating reports of "The Ring" within the Kingfisher locker room, where players would allegedly hold boxing and wrestling matches, unsupervised by coaches or school personnel.
“During the course of the investigation, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Special Agents learned that football players were left alone and most of the time not supervised by an adult or faculty member while inside the Donovan Boutwell Center,” say court documents obtained by KFOR.
Kingfisher is a town of close to 5,000 people northeast of Oklahoma City. Myers was inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2021.
"This man's name has been dragged through the mud and he's been unfairly tried and prosecuted in the public, in the news and on social media for the past five years," Myers' attorney, Joe White, said in a statement to The Oklahoman. "We are glad to finally have an opportunity to defend ourselves in the proper venue — a court of law."
Myers was one of four people charged Tuesday as a result of a lawsuit filed last year by former Kingfisher player Mason Mecklenberg. The others were Dana Golbek, a former Kingfisher teacher and current school board member, former assistant coach Micha Nall, and Justin Mecklenberg, the victim's father. Justin Mecklenberg has been charged with misdemeanor failure to report child abuse or neglect.
Derek Patterson, a current Kingfisher assistant coach, told investigators that "The Ring" was a part of the Kingfisher football program when he was a player in 2011. Myers took over the program in 2004.
“We are proud that Mason had the courage to take a stand for what is right and something is finally being done to protect the students in Kingfisher. Sadly, ‘The Ring’ was just the tip of the iceberg. Kingfisher Public Schools created a culture of abuse, harassment and intimidation that lasted for years. Sexual assault, physical abuse and mental torture were part of KingfisherHigh’s unofficial official curriculum in the athletic department. And Mason wasn’t the only victim.”