A middle school teacher in Florida has been apprehended for organizing a violent “fight club” involving sixth-grade girls in her classroom.
Florida middle school teacher accused of promoting student violence
A teacher in Florida was accused of organizing a “fight club” within her middle school classroom, sparking significant concern and legal action.
Angel Footman, 23, a teacher at Griffin Middle School in Tallahassee, faces four charges of “contributing to the delinquency of a minor” due to promoting and encouraging fights among her students.
WCTV, a local station, reports that court documents reveal a School Resource Deputy was notified on March 24 about students being permitted to fight in Angel Footman’s classroom.
School administrators were also presented with videos allegedly showing several fights that occurred between March 22 and March 23.
The documents state that numerous sixth-grade girls informed detectives they took part in prearranged fights during school hours, claiming they were invited back for more bouts, according to the report.
School administrators became aware of the purported fight club after parents shared videos of the brawls. In three of the videos, girls were allegedly seen engaging in fights while Footman observed, as if she were watching a UFC match.
The girls also mentioned the teacher established rules for the fights: “30 seconds, no screaming, no yelling, no phones.”
Florida Teacher Organises ‘Fight Club’ in Middle School Classroom with Rules Including ‘No Screaming, No Phones’#Florida #teacher #angelfootman #middleschool #FightClub #shikshanews #world #newshttps://t.co/InTCm8jgZU
— Shiksha News (@ShikshaNews) April 12, 2023
Teacher denies organizing fights, blames poor classroom management
The probable cause affidavit acquired by the station indicates that a detective reviewed videos showing Footman seated at her desk during the fights, uttering phrases such as “no screaming, no nothing” and “stop pulling hair.”
Footman refuted claims of organizing the fights. Instead, as stated by Sheriff’s Detective Hannah Parry, Footman attributed the situation to her inability to manage the classroom effectively.
This Florida teacher was apparently running her own "fight club" in her 6th grade classroom. Her fight club rules "no screaming, no yelling, no hair pulling & no cell phones" & they'd have 30 seconds to fight.
Her version of "what happens in fight club, stays in fight club" 🤬 pic.twitter.com/B1CfT2cCn2— ミ★💥𝓘𝗍s_ℳ𝒜𝒢𝒜_Ᏸі𝗍ᥴһᥱs💥★彡 (@Trump_24_47) April 12, 2023
On Friday, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office arrested the beleaguered teacher. She is slated for arraignment on May 4. At this time, it remains uncertain whether the school terminated her employment.
This article appeared in TheDailyBeat and has been published here with permission.
