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Let’s talk about fight club.
Melbourne Police and the Brevard Public Schools District are investigating a Physical Education teacher at Lyndon B. Johnson Middle School.
The teacher was allegedly running a “fight club” allowing children to fight each other in the school’s locker room.
The fights were reportedly recorded on children’s cell phones.
Yesterday, a letter from the school’s principal went home to parents of the students who were impacted by these incidents.
The investigation is ongoing and an arrest is likely to soon happen. We will not release the name of the teacher until the investigation has concluded, or an arrest is made.
Brevard Public Schools released the following statement:
It was reported that a Johnson Middle School PE teacher allegedly played a role in allowing students to fight on campus. Upon learning of this allegation, law enforcement and the Department of Children and Families were contacted, and the teacher was placed on administrative leave. There is an active police investigation along with an internal school district investigation. We will have no further comment at this time.
A teacher in Tallahassee was arrested early last month for allowing 6th grade female students to have 30-second fights in her class with specific rules. “No screaming, no hair pulling, no cameras.”
Angel Footman, 23, is accused of allowing pre-planned fights to take place in her classroom, after videos of the fights reportedly made the rounds to parents and school administrators.
In the videos, Footman was seen standing or sitting at her desk, according to the Leon County sheriff’s office.
Footman reportedly told her students they could have “30 seconds, no screaming, no yelling, no phones.”
She doesn’t intervene or call for help and is only heard telling students, “No screaming, nothing” and “Stop pulling hair.”
Florida isn’t alone. Last month in Texas, a substitute teacher was busted for the same thing.
Like in the Tallahassee case, the teacher in Texas set the rules before opening up fight club and she instructed a student to stand guard at the door in case someone passed by, according to NBC-Dallas.
The District released a statement:
“The teacher involved was a substitute teacher employed by Mesquite ISD since March 6. As of yesterday, she is no longer employed by the district and is not eligible for rehire in any capacity. Our investigation revealed that this substitute teacher encouraged students to fight each other during class, outlined rules for the students to follow and even instructed a student to monitor the classroom door while the fights took place. Her actions are appalling and intolerable.
Yesterday afternoon, campus administrators personally contacted all parents of the students in the class by phone to inform them of the situation and the school’s swift response. As educators, our hearts are heavy knowing that an individual entrusted with the supervision and care of our students could behave in this manner, and we share the disgust that the families of students in this class must feel. MISD referred this matter to Mesquite Police to pursue possible criminal charges resulting from this former substitute’s reckless and irresponsible actions.“
