New York high school football coach accused of brutally beating a player

Former James Madison High coach Nicholas Nugent faces criminal charges and a $2.5 million lawsuit

James Madison high school in Brooklyn, New York where a former football coach stands accused of brutally beating a a 14-year old student athlete in a school stairwell. /

Nicholas Nugent, a former football coach at James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York, who was arrested and charged with brutally beating a 14-year old member of the school's football team, in September of 2023, is also now facing a $2.5 million lawsuit brought by the victim's family earlier this week.

According to a report in the New York Post, Nugent was allegedly upset with the student-athlete, who is now 15, for falling asleep in a team meeting. The charging documents and civil lawsuit further allege that Nugent brought the student into a stairwell at the school and smashed his face into a wall, causing the student to lose consciousness and causing injuries that required six staples in his skull.

"He slammed twice, so the first time I hit my head and then, you know, I was on the floor and then the second time, I had a normal hand was full of blood," the victim said to ABC 7 News in New York. Because he remains a minor, SBLive has elected not to report the victim's name.

The victim's mother, Deslyn Willock, described what she saw when she arrived at the school, on Sept. 18, 2023, after getting a call informing her that her son had been injured.

"When I got into the school, my son was going in and out of consciousness, he was just lying on the floor, bleeding from his head, and I think it was a nurse who was applying pressure to his head," Wilock told ABC 7.

The family's attorney said the victim is also injured his shoulder and is now showing signs of traumatic brain injury. New York City and the Department of Education have also been named in the lawsuit.

Nugent was charged with multiple counts of felony assault, endangering the welfare of a child, harassment and menacing. He is now on supervised release and the DOE

"This is someone that we had looked up to, somebody that we trust, because there is no way that you wouldn't think as a mother or as a child that your coach educator is going to hurt your child in such a way," Willock added.

The DOE released this brief statement upon learning of the lawsuit, "The safety of our students is our number one priority. We will review the lawsuit."

Since the incident, the victim has transferred from James Madison to another school and is no longer playing football.