An unnamed coach at Georgia’s Benjamin Mays High School has been relieved of his duties after allegedly striking a player during Saturday’s season opener against Douglas County High School.
Atlanta News First posted a video of the incident on Saturday in which the coach can be seen hitting the player in the abdomen at the end of the first quarter.
A spokesman for the school told Fox 5 Atlanta that the coach has been charged with simple battery, and is not a classroom instructor but rather a volunteer coach.
The school district released a statement regarding the incident, stating, “The safety and well-being of all APS students remains a high priority for the district and all APS employees are held to the highest standard of conduct and professionalism.”
Historically, the Benjamin Mays football program has been held in high regard, producing NFL players such as Tyrell Adams, Natrez Patrick, Bryan McClendon, and Reggie Wilkes.
However, this is the second incident involving Mays in as many weeks, as police were called to the school on Aug. 11 following reports of multiple brawls during a scrimmage game. The brawls were allegedly so out of control that they even included “children and elderly people”
Douglass County came back to pick up a 21-18 win over Mays in Saturday’s game.
