School Sued Over Impromptu MMA Matchups
A high school in Blue Springs Missouri is being sued because some students began MMA-style fighting in the gym when their scheduled wrestling practice was canceled. (Video of some of the fights that allegedly occurred that day is available here.) Predictably, one student was injured and his family is now suing the school, its superintendent, its athletic director, the head wrestling coach, and an assistant coach who was allegedly present when the fights took place.
According to the Kansas City Star:
The lawsuit alleges that the Blue Springs wrestling program promoted extreme fighting and created Wildcat (school’s mascot) wrestling T-shirts that featured the Ultimate Fighting Championship emblem. Also, the school once employed a wrestling assistant coach, Matt Cox, who has since started a career as an MMA fighter.
Interestingly, the reason that Matt Cox (also known as Chris Cox) is a former wrestling coach at the school is that he was fired in 2006 for his own participation in mixed martial arts. (I can't locate the original article on this story, but it was reprinted at MMAUniverse.)
Although the school will argue that the activity was not sanctioned and that it disapproves of MMA (as evidenced by its prior firing of Cox), I think the school is in hot water here. The activity allegedly occurred on school grounds in the presence of a school employee. Whether or not you think that juveniles should be allowed to participate in MMA (a subject for a future MMALB.com post) the bottom line here is that these kids didn't have parental permission. It doesn't matter if the sport involved is MMA, wrestling, or cheerleading--starting the competition before mom or dad has signed off is a sure way to find yourself in court.
