Concerns raised over video that appears to show football coach hitting student

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - Multiple viewers have reached out to KRDO13 about a video that appears to show a coach hitting a student at a football game.

Parents say the video was recorded on Aug. 22, 2025, during a game involving Vista Ridge High School and Columbine High School. The Vista Ridge football team defeated Columbine 24-14 in week zero.

Despite it being months since the video was taken, the two parents KRDO13 Investigates spoke with say they are concerned about how the incident was handled by the district, saying they only recently found out about it and felt there was a lack of transparency from the district about how or if the incident was investigated and handled. Those concerns were also shared by a different teacher from Vista Ridge High School that we spoke with.

District 49's employee handbook states, "Any action, which in the administration’s opinion is inappropriate to the workplace, will not be tolerated. Such behaviors may include, but are not limited to, physical and/or verbal intimidating, threatening, or violent conduct, vandalism, sabotage, arson, use of weapons, and bullying."

KRDO13 Investigates reached out to the district for comment and received the following statement:

Administrators at Vista Ridge High School, in collaboration with district leadership, conducted an investigation last fall into inappropriate contact between the school’s head football coach and a player entering a game.

Because the district holds staff to clear standards of conduct, administrators addressed the matter promptly through corrective action and a restorative process with those directly impacted.

The coach remains in his role with the VRHS football team. As this is a personnel matter, and involves an individual student, District 49 will not share additional details that may violate either individual’s privacy.

We asked a District 49 spokesperson what exactly the corrective action was, and they said they did not have additional details to provide about the corrective action. KRDO13 Investigates also asked for the full recording of the game for additional context. The district said it did not have a recording of the game. 

KRDO13 Investigates spoke with the coach over the phone, who said the video was taken out of context and that it was not done out of anger.

"We reached a resolution with the family and the district and school led that… The district is aware of the incident and we dealt with it in early Sept,” explained Matt Wibbels in a text message.

Online court records reviewed by KRDO13 Investigates show no criminal history for the coach aside from a minor traffic infraction resolved by a $39 fine.

KRDO13 Investigates also attempted to get ahold of the parents of the athlete in the video, but we have not been able to do so yet.

KRDO13 Investigates also reached out to the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) about the incident. We have yet to receive a response.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.