A high school American football coach has lost his job just hours before the first game of the season after an angry kick of a football ended in the worst possible place.
Adam Brubaker was fired from his position at Royal High in California following an incident during practice in which a ball he kicked struck one of his players in the groin, USA Today reports.
The moment was captured by the team’s Hudl video system, with footage showing Brubaker appearing visibly frustrated before kicking the football.
It then hit the player in the groin, causing him to buckle over.
Brubaker has maintained that striking the player was accidental, explaining that the incident happened while he was dealing with another situation during the practice session.
According to Brubaker, he had been addressing a player who tackled one of his teammates despite the team being in a non-contact period.
There was a football lying in front of the coach at the time and, in his frustration, he decided to kick it.
“There was a football in front of me,” Brubaker told the Ventura County Star. “I was pissed. I wanted to kick the football all the way to Royal Avenue. Instead, it hits (the player). It was an accident. I didn’t mean to hit him.”
Whatever his intention, the incident ultimately brought his time in charge of the team to an abrupt end.
Brubaker was instructed not to return to campus on Thursday.
The following morning, he attended a meeting at the Simi Valley Unified School District, where he was informed that he had been dismissed.
His response to losing his position was brief. “I got fired,” Brubaker told the Ventura County Star. “It is what it is.”
Brubaker also made clear that he wasn’t attempting to dispute what could be seen in the footage or hide what had happened.
“I’m not going to destroy evidence,” Brubaker said. “I did what I did, I’m going to own up for it.”
The footage caused somewhat of a mixed response on X, where some people argued that their coaches at high school were more aggressive. However, many agreed that no students should have to deal with such short-tempered behaviour.
The timing meant Royal High suddenly found itself without its head coach on the same day it was preparing to begin its season.
Brubaker had been coming off his first full campaign in charge of the programme, having previously served as a co-coach at nearby Panorama High.
Royal High finished that previous season with a 3-7 record.
Following Brubaker’s departure, assistant coach Cody MacArthur was handed control of the team on an interim basis.
Considering the upheaval surrounding the programme immediately before its opening fixture, Royal High’s players could have been forgiven for being distracted when they eventually took the field.
Instead, they delivered about as emphatic a response as possible.
With MacArthur overseeing the team, Royal High faced North Hills Monroe in Week 1 and recorded an extraordinary 62-0 victory.
Featured image credit: X (screenshot)
