Exclusive: Kingfisher head football coach, three others charged after hazing investigation

KINGFISHER — The head football coach at Kingfisher High School was charged Tuesday with child neglect after a lengthy investigation that began after a former player filed a hazing lawsuit.

Jeff Myers, 56, is accused in the felony charge of condoning, permitting or deliberately ignoring for years boxing and wrestling matches that took place in the locker room.

The matches were known as "The Ring" and were used by players to settle differences they had out on the field, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported in a court affidavit.

Four former players told the OSBI they saw Myers watching matches, according to the affidavit. Five more former players said Myers knew about it.

Myers said in testimony for the lawsuit that he knew about "The Ring" and had witnessed one wrestling match, according to the affidavit. A 2018 video of two freshmen fighting in "The Ring" in the locker room while teammates cheer is among the evidence in the lawsuit.

Three others, including father of former player who filed suit, also charged

Also charged were Micah Nall, a former assistant coach; Dana Golbek, a school board member; and, in a twist, Justin Mecklenburg, the father of the suing former player.

Nall, 48, of Piedmont, is charged with two felony counts, child abuse and perjury.

He is accused in the child abuse count of involvement in "The Ring," including wresting a student himself. He also is accused of punching a player in the face and verbally abusing others.

Nall admitted in testimony for the federal lawsuit that he had participated in "The Ring," according to a court affidavit. He said it was a "very, very poor decision."

Nall was banned from coaching for a year after pleading guilty in 2021 to a misdemeanor for obstructing a police investigation. Police were investigating because of accusations he kept a player in a drill on the practice field known as "Bull in the Ring" too long.

Golbek, 68, is charged with a misdemeanor, failure to report child abuse or neglect. She is accused of only telling the school superintendent when she learned about the abuse of the former player who sued.

More: 'Fight Club' video key evidence in football hazing suit against Kingfisher

"Golbek never reported this to the police or to the Department of Human Services," the OSBI said in a court affidavit.

Golbek was elected to the school board in 2014 after retiring as a teacher.

Justin Mecklenburg, 50, also is charged with a misdemeanor, failure to report child abuse or neglect. The OSBI said in a court affidavit that he only talked to school officials and not the police about his son's abuse. He told the OSBI he worried his son would face reprisal.

The charges come just seven weeks before the scheduled start of a jury trial in Oklahoma City federal court over the hazing lawsuit.

Myers has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

"When Coach Myers was made aware of any issues in his football program, he put a stop to them and took appropriate measures to report the issue and/or discipline the students," his attorney, Joe White, said in the federal case. "He did not engage in any affirmative conduct that placed Plaintiff in danger and did not himself engage in any act of bullying."

The former player, Mason Mecklenburg, sued Kingfisher Public Schools, Myers and other coaches in 2021.

Mason Mecklenburg alleges the coaches allowed and even encouraged a culture of hazing, bullying and abuse. He and other former players have alleged some of their abuse was sexual.

Some of the witnesses in the lawsuit have said Mason Mecklenburg was singled out for abuse because he was the "rich kid."

"Over and over again, school officials in positions of authority to act had actual knowledge of minor children suffering from mental and physical abuse ... on ... campus, and did nothing," his attorneys said in a legal filing last month "That is shocking."

The school district and other coaches also have denied wrongdoing.

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Myers already is in the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He is 2-5 so far in his 20th season coaching for the Kingfisher Yellowjackets. His overall record there is 186-67.

Kingfisher's next game is Thursday night.

Mason Mecklenburg, now 21, filed the lawsuit as "John Doe." The Oklahoman did not use his name at first because of a policy against identifying victims of sex crimes in most instances. He has since agreed to be named.

The Kingfisher school board last year voted to reject a $1.5 million settlement demand.

Evidence in federal case includes a video of locker room fighting that was known as 'The Ring'

The demand went up this year to $5 million and then $10 million after attorneys for the former player came up with more evidence. Key to the demand is that Myers be fired. Settlement talks this year have failed − twice.

In an unusual legal move, the parents, Justin and Lyndy Mecklenburg, asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court in August to order school officials to fire Myers to protect students.

Their request is still pending. Attorneys for the school district have called it "nothing more than a vehicle ... to seek publicity for and/or some sort of tactical advantage for their son in the lawsuit."

Those attorneys also told the Supreme Court many of the allegations in the request "are presented in a highly misleading fashion or blatantly false."

A criminal charge against a coach or teacher frequently leads to termination, but the Kingfisher school board might put off any disciplinary action until the case is completed.

Making the decision to file the charges was Mike Fields, the Kingfisher County district attorney. Fields is more familiar with the culture of football than most prosecutors because he was a linebacker at the University of Oklahoma in the early 1990s.

The Kingfisher school district is not the only one facing accusations against coaches.

Ringling's head football coach, Phil Koons, had been under investigation because of allegations he harassed and bullied players. He was charged Tuesday in Jefferson County District Court with a misdemeanor, outraging public decency.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Kingfisher High football coach, 3 others charged after hazing probe