California high school coach fired after kicking football into player’s groin during practice [VIDEO]
Royal High’s Adam Brubaker Terminated After Video Shows Incident, Drawing Millions of Views
A California high school football coach has been fired after video surfaced showing him kicking a football into a player’s groin during practice. The 40-second clip, posted on X by @DailyLoud, has gained over 4 million views and sparked widespread criticism of the coach’s actions and his response afterward.
Adam Brubaker, head coach at Royal High School in Simi Valley, is shown kicking a football in the direction of a player, striking him in the lower midsection. The player immediately collapsed, clutching his groin, and required assistance to leave the field. Brubaker was terminated days after the incident. It happened hours before the team’s season opener.
A Deliberate Kick, an Immediate Collapse
The overhead security footage captures a standard high school football practice on a green artificial turf field. Players in practice uniforms are scattered across the field in groups, some running drills. An adult male, later identified as Brubaker, stands apart in a light gray t-shirt and dark shorts. A red arrow briefly highlights his position.
He advances purposefully toward a cluster of players near the center of the frame. A football lies on the turf near the group. Brubaker executes a deliberate kicking motion with his right leg. However, he ended up propelling the ball in the direction of one standing player. The ball travels a short distance and makes contact with the player’s lower midsection.
The struck player immediately reacts by collapsing forward onto the turf. He was curling and kneeling while clutching his groin area. His body language indicates sudden acute pain. Other players and adults nearby react by turning toward the downed individual. Several teammates and coaches move in quickly. After that, the group formed a small cluster around the player on the ground.
The Moment He Walked Away
The player who was struck is later shown being helped to his feet and supported as he moves slowly off the immediate area. After that, he required physical assistance. Meanwhile, Brubaker is visible turning and walking away from the immediate scene toward another part of the field rather than remaining with the group attending to the player.
That decision to walk away has become a focal point of the criticism. Many observers noted that even if the kick was accidental, the coach’s failure to check on the injured player demonstrated a lack of care and leadership. He remained at a distance while others assisted the player.
One widely shared reply stated: “Even if an accident, not checking on the kid tells you all you need to know. Too many sadists in the football coaching ranks.” Another user wrote: “Take the ball kicking out of the equation and not even checking on him when he’s writhing in pain is pathetic.”
‘One in a Million’ or Something Else?
Brubaker told reporters from Sports Illustrated High School and ABC7 Eyewitness News that the incident stemmed from frustration with one specific player. The player had repeatedly taken teammates to the ground during drills in a manner Brubaker considered prohibited due to injury risk. In particular, the coach described a moment involving a key running back.
Brubaker stated he had held at least a dozen prior conversations with the player about the issue. Additionally, he described the athlete as “a great kid, but he’s intense.” In the moment captured on video, he advanced while visibly upset. After that, he verbally addressed the player, then kicked a football lying on the ground nearby.
He maintained that the contact was unintentional. So, he described kicking the ball “out of anger” with no intent to hit the player. He called the outcome “a one in a million shot.” He told ABC7: “I kicked the ball and it hit him in the groin area and instantly I felt like I was going to pass out. I feel obviously a great deal of remorse for what happened.”
Also, he stated that after practice he approached the player, apologized, and explained his frustration. He said that the player accepted the apology. Brubaker noted that he had the opportunity to delete the practice film but chose not to, believing that tampering would be worse.
Terminated Hours Before Kickoff
School and district officials placed Brubaker on leave while reviewing the footage and circumstances. Principal Reina Zapata communicated to football families that the administration was gathering information and that an interim coaching plan was in place to minimize disruption.
On Friday, August 21, 2026, hours before the team’s season opener against Monroe High, the Simi Valley Unified School District completed its review. Once it was completed, they terminated Brubaker’s employment. The decision was announced via a statement to families: the leadership of the program would change immediately.
Assistant coach Cody MacArthur served as head coach for the season-opening game that evening. An interim head coach was to be named shortly. The district emphasized support for student-athletes, program stability, and moving forward. Brubaker’s staff photo was removed from the team page.
X Users React to the Viral Footage
The post on X received 33,000 likes, 1,500 reposts, and nearly 4 million views within roughly 24 to 36 hours. Reactions were predominantly critical of the coach’s actions and subsequent body language, mixed with dark humor and skepticism of the accident claim.
One high-engagement reply with over 7,600 likes stated: “30 years ago he woulda won the grand prize on ‘AFV’ and would have met Bob Saget,” framing the incident as accidental-comedy material from an earlier era of television. Critical observations about post-incident behavior were prominent.
Another user with nearly 2,000 likes wrote: “Even if an accident, not checking on the kid tells you all you need to know.” A reply with over 400 likes emphasized leadership principles: “I think it’s more about the verbal abuse and walking away, knowing he just hurt one his players. First Rule of Leadership: Take care of your people.”
Skepticism of the “one in a million” description appeared frequently, with users arguing the direction and timing of the kick, combined with the walk-away, suggested more intentionality or at least reckless disregard. Calls for further consequences surfaced in replies stating that a father would seek the coach out or that the action warranted hospital-level response if it involved their own child.
A smaller set of posts defended the coach by referencing past coaching eras, with users claiming such incidents were mild compared to helmet-grabbing or physical handling common in the 1980s and 1990s. One user wrote “That’s nothing… Grow a pair,” while others argued modern society had become too soft.
When Frustration Crosses the Line
The episode highlights ongoing tensions in high school athletics regarding coach authority, emotional control, player safety, and institutional accountability. In an era of widespread campus camera coverage and rapid social-media dissemination, isolated moments of frustration that once remained internal to a practice field become public evidence subject to immediate scrutiny.
The physical outcome—an unintended but direct strike to a sensitive area of a minor athlete—raised questions about proportional response to on-field rule violations and the duty of care expected from adults in coaching roles. Traditional “toughness” models that once tolerated intense verbal and physical demonstrations have faced increasing pushback.
For Brubaker, the termination ends his tenure at the school and may affect future coaching opportunities. For Royal High, the loss of the head coach on the eve of the season creates disruption and reliance on interim leadership. The season opener proceeded under interim leadership.
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