A student at Missouri's Blue Springs High School is suing the school district after he was injured in what is being described as "a mixed martial arts-style fight" which an assistant wrestling coach cheered on.
The Kansas City Star reports that Samuel Gomez, a junior who was on the Blue Springs the wrestling team, claims that when a wrestling practice was canceled last October, wrestlers stuck around the gymnasium and had an MMA-style fight that one student videotaped and that assistant wrestling coach James Williamson watched and cheered on.
Gomez claims that he broke two teeth and had another tooth knocked out in the fight, and that his injuries required a rod to be placed in his mouth two root canals.
Gomez's lawyer told the Kansas City Star, "The school essentially refused to take this matter seriously, even when the school was provided that video. There was plenty of opportunity for the school to accept responsibility."
Although this is being described as an MMA fight, it's important to note that in reality, this wasn't an MMA fight at all: MMA fights are done under a referee's supervision, in a confined space, and with participants required to wear mouthguards. This was just two kids brawling in a gym. If a coach egged them on, he has no business coaching youth sports.
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