
Ringling principal, coach charged following allegations of verbal and physical abuse
Tod Mercer represents student-athletes in a case against Ringling High School Principal and head football coach Philip Koons, charged with Outraging Public Decency for alleged verbal and physical abuse spanning from 2021 to 2023. Mercer and co-counsel Cameron Spradling argue the charge fails to address the full extent of abuse, including claims of psychological torment, derogatory name-calling, and humiliating punishment such as “naked up downs.” Despite these allegations, the school board renewed Koons’s contract, though he has since been placed on paid administrative leave amid ongoing investigations.