ARLINGTON, Texas — A high school fight caught on camera is raising questions for one Mansfield mother whose son appeared to take punch after punch from a classmate.
“And be punching a fellow student like this? What are the teachers doing?” said Bola Afolabi, mother of Bisade Afolabi, a 17-year-old senior at Summit High School.
Bisade, told WFAA that it all started when another boy he didn’t know verbally threatened a girl he was sitting with in the school auditorium.
“I said, ‘Hold up. You don’t disrespect a woman like that. That’s wrong,’” Afolabi recalled. “And then he said, ‘Who are you? I’m going to punch you.’”
Multiple videos taken by classmates appear to show the other boy throwing punches at Afolabi as he remained seated. Eventually, Afolabi stands and appears to attempt to grab the boy to try and stop the fight.
“The consequences of me fighting him back would probably be worse than the stitches I have right now,” Afolabi said.
Afolabi certainly knows how to fight. He’s a boxer and a football player, but in that initial moment he said that he worried fighting back could affect his sports eligibility and his legal status. He’s a permanent resident from Nigeria.
“There would have been a chance that I’m not even in America right now,” he said.
Afolabi admits that he did eventually throw a punch at his attacker, but he said that he’s not sure whether he actually made contact. He said that he has not faced any disciplinary procedures as a result. His mom says she wants to press charges against the other boy who punched her son, and she is not satisfied by how the school handled the situation.
“Why did it take them so long?” she asked about the teachers, “Because I can see the fight does not start immediately.”
Bisade said teachers were present in the auditorium and jumped in quickly after the fight broke out.
In a statement to WFAA, Mansfield ISD said that campus staff rushed to get the situation under control and added that appropriate disciplinary actions have been taken.
“Mansfield ISD is committed to creating a safe learning environment for all of its students and does not condone any type of behavior that would violate that right,” the statement read. Full text is posted below.
Bisade said that as a result of the injuries he sustained from the punches, he has been suspended from all sports until he can be cleared by a doctor. But he said he thinks he did what’s right in the situation.
“I’m proud of him,” said Bola Afolabi.
Mansfield ISD Statement:
Mansfield ISD is committed to creating a safe learning environment for all of its students and does not condone any type of behavior that would violate that right. After the incident in question occurred, campus staff rushed to get the situation under control. A thorough investigation into the matter then ensued. MISD takes these types of situations very seriously. Due to student privacy laws, specific details about consequences cannot be released. However, please know that the appropriate student disciplinary actions, according to the district’s Student Code of Conduct, have been taken.