High school football coach arrested after allegedly punching player during game

An Atlanta Public Schools football coach has been arrested for allegedly punching and shoving an opposing player during a fight between the teams.

Therrell High School volunteer coach Emardre Brown is out on bond following his arrest in Temple, a small town 38 miles west of Atlanta.

A facemask incident during the game sparked a fight between the Temple High Tigers and the Therrell High Panthers, according to Temple Police Detective Andrew Mitchell. It was during this melee that Brown is alleged to have shoved a Temple player and punched the student athlete's face through his facemask, Mitchell said.

The player's family rushed the student athlete to urgent care before pressing charges against Brown.

Brown is facing charges of cruelty to children in the first degree, battery and simple assault, according to online records from Carroll County, Georgia. He currently does not have an attorney listed on the website and Brown did not immediately respond to The Daily Mail's request for comment.

Mitchell did release a statement on the incident to Fox 5 in Atlanta.

'Sportsmanship between the players and how infractions are handled getting the people apart, separating of parties trying to fight would be expected,' Mitchell said.

Atlanta Public Schools have since released a statement on the incident, explaining that Brown is no longer coaching within the district.

'Atlanta Public Schools is aware of the arrest of a volunteer coach during the Therrell High School versus Temple High School football game on Friday, September 11, 2026,' read the district statement. 'As a result of the allegations and arrest, the volunteer coach is no longer serving as a coach for APS.'

Online records show an Emardre Brown out of Georgia's Douglas County High School playing linebacker at Point University along the state's border with Alabama.

He was last listed on the school's roster in 2019.