High school football coach faces backlash over viral video of him tackling a student

Dillon Thompson
Updated ·2 min read

A high school football coach is facing calls for his resignation after a video of him tackling a student went viral earlier this month.

The controversy started when Mason Langel, a junior at Wilmot Union High School in Wilmot, Wisc., ran onto the field during a football game on Sept. 6. Footage of the incident shows the 16-year-old and another student sprinting through the middle of the field before being stopped by assistant coach Ken Mulhollon.

Mulhollon can be seen grabbing Mason, tossing him to the ground and dragging him away by his shirt. The video of the encounter has since gone viral on Instagram, with versions shared by media accounts such as Barstool Chicago earning more than 200,000 views.

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This high school strength coach has waited his entire life for this hit @redlineradio (Via @davidamborghini)

A post shared by Barstool Chicago (@barstoolchicago) on Sep 10, 2019 at 2:42pm PDT

"This high school strength coach has waited his entire life for this hit," Barstool Chicago's video caption says.

But Rebecca Langel, Mason's mother, didn't have as playful of a reaction. She's now calling for Mulhollon to be fired, saying the coach's conduct was "excessive."

"I would like to see him fired, but I don’t think that will happen," Langel told Kenosha News. "Something needs to be done. I don’t think he should get away with it."

Mason was suspended for five days after the incident, in addition to receiving a $200 fine for disorderly conduct. Langel said while she acknowledges her son was misbehaving, she doesn't believe Mulhollon's reaction was warranted.

"He could have killed my kid, or broken his neck. No one bothered to check and see if my son was OK," she told Kenosha News.

Langel went on to criticize the school's handling of the incident, claiming that administrators were unconcerned with her son's safety. She said she received a call from the principal telling her only that her son was in trouble — not finding out until later that he'd also been hurt.

"They never bothered to tell me he was clotheslined, knocked out and dragged off the field by the football coach," Langel said.

Mason was later taken to the doctor, and Langel said he suffered a concussion. No action has been taken against Mulhollon as of yet, however, the school said the situation is still being reviewed.