Ex-Ringling football coach Phil Koons has medical episode on the stand, hearing delayed

WAURIKA — A court hearing for a prominent former Oklahoma high school football coach convicted of swearing at his teenage players ended abruptly Wednesday after he suffered an apparent medical episode while testifying.

Ex-Ringling coach Phil Koons, 61, appeared Wednesday morning in Jefferson County court, where a judge was to consider whether to erase Koons' Jan. 2 no-contest plea. Prosecutors asked the court to deny the request.

Koons was being questioned on the stand by a Jefferson County prosecutor when the incident occurred. Sheriff’s deputies cleared the courtroom and called for medical help. An emergency medical crew arrived and drove Koons by ambulance to a nearby hospital.

Shelby Shelton, one of Koons’ attorneys, said soon after the hearing that he did not have any further information about the medical episode, except that Koons would receive medical attention. A further update on Koons’ condition was not immediately available Wednesday afternoon.

The hearing has been reset for March 12, confirmed John Weedn, the Jefferson County assistant district attorney prosecuting the case.

More: Former Ringling football coach convicted amid mistreatment claims asks to withdraw no contest plea

Ringling coach asks to change no contest plea, claims he made the plea under duress

Koons, whose teams have won multiple state championships, faces up to one year in jail after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor count of outraging public decency. Defendants who plead no contest do not admit guilt but waive the right to a trial and agree to accept the court's punishment.

Koons’ plea followed a monthslong investigation by state police into allegations he mistreated Ringling Blue Devils players. While the investigative report has not been made public, several players and their parents told The Oklahoman last year that Koons repeatedly harassed, bullied and intimidated them. They also said he routinely used homophobic, misogynistic and racist slurs to refer to them, particularly when he was upset.

Koons and his attorneys argued he had pleaded no contest to the criminal charge under duress, with only minutes to consider his decision. They said he originally planned to enter the plea as part of a negotiated deal that called for no jail time, but Associate District Court Judge Dennis Gay rejected those recommended sentencing terms.

In a court filing, Koons said he did not fully understand the potential impacts of his plea, and he testified during Wednesday morning’s court hearing that he wanted to retract it.

Weedn asked Koons a series of questions about his education, experience and mental capacity. The prosecutor explained he was trying to establish how familiar Koons was with the judicial system and criminal law.

Koons acknowledged he had a master’s degree, had a certification to teach social studies and taught civics classes, including going over constitutional rights.

Weedn also questioned whether Koons had ever had other interactions with police, including during his previous coaching stops at Tuttle and Clinton.

Koons said he was not aware of ever being under investigation in the past. He admitted speaking to police, though, while at Tuttle regarding a complaint lodged by a player whose nickname was “Big Country.”

When Weedn asked whether the investigation stemmed from Koons swapping out the second half of the player’s nickname with an expletive when the teen missed practice, Koons replied no.

Koons also testified he never talked with OSBI investigators who were looking into complaints lodged by players in Ringling. However, he acknowledged that he read the final 500-page report into players’ allegations.

Wednesday hearing draws crowd

Some of those players and their parents attended the hearing, sitting on wooden benches behind Weedn.

About 60 people showed up in support of Koons, including his wife and several of his children. The crowd gathered behind his family included several employees of Ringling schools. The tiny southern Oklahoma town is about a 25-minute drive from the county courthouse in Waurika.

Court officials installed extra security measures ahead of the hearing, with deputies walking through the gravel parking lot and standing near the entrances to the courthouse and courtroom. They told people to remove any weapons, leading several people to drop their pocket knives into a small plastic dish so they could sit in on the hearing.

Mike Johnson, the second attorney representing Koons, objected to several of Weedn’s questions.

Gay decided to allow most of them. The judge was explaining to Koons the nature of one of Weedn’s questions about court procedures when Koons suffered the medical episode.

Koons’ attorneys said he was under stress due to the allegations he is facing, which they contend are false.

More: In 'football heaven,' a coach suspended. A town divided. What happened in Ringling?

Investigation into Phil Koons, Ringling football

Koons is also named in a related civil suit. Nine players sued him, his adult sons Sterling and Cooper, Ringling Superintendent Kent Southward and the Ringling school district in Oklahoma City federal court Jan. 11. They allege the school failed to protect them from bullying and abuse by Phil Koons, despite knowing about past reports of players being mistreated at Tuttle and Clinton.

Cameron Spradling, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the players, noted that Koons had asked to withdraw the plea in his criminal case because of the duress he said he felt. “Ironic, since the foundation of the criminal case and the civil lawsuit is the years of duress he inflicted upon others,” Spradling said in a statement. “Boys that were never given the luxury of a reprieve. Nevertheless, we all wish Coach Koons a full and complete recovery so that he can one day answer for his wrongs in both the criminal and the civil matters.”

Koons is a fixture in Oklahoma high school sports and was voted into the coaches’ hall of fame. In 30 seasons of coaching at Ringling, Clinton and Tuttle, he compiled a 282-71 record, winning Class 3A titles with Tuttle in 2001 and 2005 and the Class A title with Ringling in 2019.

He also served as principal of Ringling’s junior and senior high schools but has not worked there since criminal charges were filed against him in October, Shelton has said. Koons remains certified to teach in Oklahoma schools.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ringling football: Hearing delayed after ex-coach's medical episode