Ringling football coach Phil Koons facing 1 year in jail after judge rejects plea deal

A Hall of Fame high school football coach from southern Oklahoma faces up to one year in jail for repeatedly using profanity toward his teenage players.

Phil Koons pleaded no contest Tuesday to a misdemeanor count of outraging public decency, a charge that followed a months-long investigation into accusations brought to police by several Ringling Blue Devils players and their parents. The teens reported that Koons, who was also their high school principal, routinely bullied, harassed and intimidated them on the field and in the locker room. They said he used racist, homophobic and misogynistic slurs to refer to them and once required them to complete exercise drills while they were undressed in the locker room.

The case generated widespread attention because of Koons’ record in leading football teams to state championships despite repeated allegations that he mistreated players.

“I can’t make others understand how bad it felt, how much it hurt and what these last four years have been like,” one Ringling player said in a victim impact statement read aloud at Tuesday’s hearing.

Read more: In 'football heaven,' a coach suspended. A town divided. What happened in Ringling?

Three other players also submitted statements to the court. Some described thoughts of suicide and panic attacks because of bullying by Koons and the public backlash they faced after reporting his actions to police.

“When Koons first got here, he said to the team, ‘When I’m done here, half the town will hate me and half the town will love me,’ and that is exactly what is going on today,” one player said.

That player and one other also questioned whether their former coach was receiving special treatment from Jefferson County prosecutors, who worked out a plea deal with Koons without input from the teens or their families.

Associate District Judge Dennis Gay ultimately rejected that agreement after hearing from the players and will hand down his own sentence March 12.

Ringling players, parents question how case was handled

The rejection gave players and their parents hope that Koons’ case will not be swept under the rug, said Tod Mercer, an attorney representing several players.

“You can’t treat a child like that at home,” Mercer said, “and certainly a coach can’t treat your child that way at school.”

Mercer said it was clear Koons was treated differently from many people accused of harming children, because prosecutors did not file a charge for nearly five months after the criminal investigation was complete, and even then, Koons was never arrested. His court hearing Tuesday occurred with little notice.

"I don’t see many criminals that get that opportunity," Mercer said.

More: Teacher who supported whistleblowers let go at Ringling schools

John Weedn, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case, said he handled Koons' case as he would any other on his plate. He declined to say whether the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation recommended additional charges that his office decided not to pursue. The report by investigators has not been made public.

“We try to treat folks fairly and justly, and this is what we believed was appropriate,” Weedn said. “We offered what we believed was appropriate based on all the circumstances.”

The proposed plea agreement did not call for jail time, but required Koons to give up his teaching license for seven years while he served probation. He also would have been barred from coaching children or consulting for schools, Weedn said.

He said he could not speculate why Gay chose not to accept the terms.

Koons, 61, has not worked at Ringling schools since October, when he was charged in the case, said his attorney, Shelby Shelton.

It is unclear if Koons remains on the rural school district’s payroll. School board documents show he has not formally resigned or retired. But his second-oldest son, Tanner Koons, was hired as the school’s new head football coach.

Kent Southward, the superintendent for Ringling Public Schools, did not return a message for comment.

An online Oklahoma State Department of Education database shows Philip Koons’ teaching and administrative licenses remain active.

Department of Education have not said whether they will revoke Phil Koons' licenses

Dan Isett, a spokesman for the agency, would not say if Koons’ licenses would be considered for revocation as a result of the conviction. Isett said only that the agency was “investigating.”

Shelton said he had not been notified about any such investigation.

He said he believed the court proceedings vindicated Koons in a way, because while Koons is not proud of cursing at players, he denies all other accusations and did not face any criminal charges related to those allegations.

“It’s been sensationalized by a series of false allegations,” said Shelton, an Oklahoma City-based attorney. “He’s a God-fearing man. He’s a proud man. He loves his students. He loves his family. He loves teaching. He loves coaching. He loves being an administrator.”

The case appears far from over. Mercer and a second attorney, Cameron Spradling, plan to file a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of several Ringling students.

In 30 seasons of coaching at Ringling, Clinton and Tuttle, Koons compiled a 282-71 record, winning Class 3A titles with Tuttle in 2001 and 2005 and the Class A title with Ringling in 2019.

But at each stop, Koons has faced criticism for his coaching methods, and allegations of inappropriate behavior were well known before he was hired by Ringling in 2018.

Koons is the second state championship-winning coach to face legal trouble in recent months. In November, Jeff Myers gave up his coaching job after the Kingfisher Public Schools district settled a federal lawsuit over hazing and bullying inside the football program for $5 million.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: What happened at the court hearing for Ringling football coach Phil Koons