Florida high school runner punched in head not pressing charges

The high school runner who was sucker punched in the back of the head is not pressing charges against the perpetrator, according to a report.

A video went viral this week that showed the ugly incident between two competitors at a high school track meet in Florida. The video clip shows runners competing in a race. One runner out in front gets chased down by another person, who knocks the first runner down with a big punch to the head.

According to TMZ Sports, the incident took place at the Tohopekaliga Tiger Invitational in Kissimmee, Fla. Here is the video, but beware of the loud F-bomb in the middle.

High school track race fight club pic.twitter.com/0nbDRz5Iur

— Baseball Fight Club (@mlb_fights) March 29, 2022

TMZ says that the white runner, who was wearing a white tank and red shorts, was leading a 3,000 meter race. The black athlete, who was wearing a black tank and shorts, was not competing in the event. However, the black athlete reportedly was standing in the track as the runners were racing. The white runner, who was leading the race, had yelled at the black athlete in the black uniform and told him to get out of the way. The next time around, the black guy apparently intentionally got in the other guy’s way, which led the white runner to push the athlete in back. The black athlete then reportedly chased down the white runner and punched him in the back of the head.

Here is TMZ’s description:

Witnesses say the runner in first place yelled at the athlete in black to move … but when the next lap came around, the guy appeared to purposely get in the way of the runner by standing on the track.

According to witnesses, the runner in first then pushed the athlete in black to get him out of the way. In response, the athlete chased down the runner and punched him from behind.

TMZ says that the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office told them the runner who was punched did not want to press charges. The perpetrator of the punch also did not want to press charges, apparently over the push that took place that was not captured on video.

Florida High School Athletic Association officials are determining what disciplinary action may be taken.