New Court Filings Detail Alleged Abuse At Kingfisher High School

There are new filings in the case against the Kingfisher football coach, Jeff Myers. The State Supreme Court case files outline almost two decades of alleged abuse, saying that coaches and administration at Kingfisher knew about many of the instances and did nothing about them.

These documents also named State Superintendent Ryan Walters for the first time.

One filing is almost 400 pages, and includes testimony from parents and former students, depositions, evidence and more, alleging abuse and cover up at the hands of Kingfisher football coach, Jeff Myers.

The parents of one alleged victim, Mason Mecklenburg, are the ones who filed the suit. They are asking the State Supreme Court to take action, saying Myers has engaged in “mental or physical abuse to a child” and acts of “moral turpitude.” 

The lawsuit goes on to request the supreme court direct the local and state superintendent -“to take necessary action to terminate Jeff Myers.”

“But where, as here, both the local and state school administrators abdicate their responsibility, Oklahoma law provides another layer of protection for our children- this Court,” reads the lawsuit. “The requested relief is necessary to ensure the health and safety of Kingfisher public school students whose wellbeing is currently endangered by the toxic, abusive environment cultivated by Coach Myers and by the indifference and inaction.”

The filing says, “Myers is such a danger, this court should force these officials to do something about it.”

“We may rank last in education, but we rank first in child abuse cases in this state,” said Cameron Spradling, the parents' attorney. “There is real sexual assault happening to boys and girls in our schools and nothing has been done about it.”

Spradling accuses both the local and state superintendent of sweeping this under the rug.

“The most important thing and the highest duty of the state board of education - to protect the safety and wellbeing of our children that's all we need,” said Spradling. “Since Ryan Walters has taken office there has not been one Title IX team that has come and investigated these schools.”

The filing also alleges that the administration and coaches knew of incidents and didn’t take action. “Myers’s folder is overstuffed with “complaints from parents, letters written to state board and criminal investigations into Myers and the toxic environment he permits and fosters,” reads the lawsuit.

The former superintendent is quoted in the lawsuit saying he believes there are grounds to fire the entire Kingfisher football staff.

One former student says it's a dangerous environment that he doesn't feel safe, describing the culture as similar to ‘Lord of the Flies.’ He explained the reference, saying the weaker kids are vulnerable and get bullied, hazed, threatened.

One court document shared fifteen different incidents spanning from February of 2005 through March of 2023. The filings say that “Kingfisher Public Schools has acknowledged each incident violated KPS’s own policies and in many cases, state and federal law.”

These incidents include sexual assault in the locker room and on team buses, physical assaults and more. One former player saying what he endured at Kingfisher landed him in rehab more than once, and another cited sexual assault and physical abuse as the reason he attempted suicide twice.

The details of some of the incidents are disturbing:

1. Feb 2005: the mother of a player reported that Myers physically assaulted her son during gym class. She filed a police report for “assault on a minor” but there was no discipline from school.
2. Fall 2008: An alleged sexual assault in locker room. KPS was informed and did not report to law enforcement or conduct an investigation.
3. Fall 2009: A student was allegedly physically assaulted in the locker room. That student says “physical assaults, depression, shame and vulnerability led him to drug rehab on numerous occasions”
4. Fall 2010: Myers allegedly physically abused a senior football player with staph infection, “squeezing bacteria from the infection.” A doctor was allegedly “infuriated” saying the player could have lost his leg or life as a result of Myers recklessness.
5. During the 2015-2016 school year: A student was allegedly sexually assaulted with a baseball bat on the team bus. This was not reported to the police, and there was no discipline from the school.
6. Fall 2019: Another sexual assault in locker room, similar to the 2008 incident. The suit alleged the player was held down by four students and sexually assaulted by a fifth student. That player has allegedly twice attempted suicide because of abuse at Kingfisher football program.
7. 2020: A student was allegedly physically abused during a practice drill under the supervision of Myers and another coach.
8. March 2023: Myers allegedly takes a female student into his office where he screams profanities in her face. According to the lawsuit, KPS says they are aware of the incident, and adds this is grounds for termination.

One Former student is quoted in the filing saying, the only thing that will stop the problems at Kingfisher is “Coach Myers getting fired and not being allowed to coach anywhere for the rest of his life.”

We reached out to the State Superintendent Walters advisor for a comment and didn’t receive a response. 

Coach Jeff Myers is still employed as the football coach at Kingfisher.