DALLAS — Marcel Brooks is a former Dallas ISD wrestling and football coach who is trying to put an April incident in his past.
The former coach was initially placed on administrative leave and then fired after video surfaced of Brooks striking a student. This week, a Dallas County judge honored a state's motion to dismiss the charge of assault against Brooks.
"I am not that person that was painted by that video," Brooks told WFAA. "It's a roller-coaster. It's been up and down. I had my moments that I did feel depressed about it," he said.
Brooks is sharing his version of what happened for the first time. In the moments before any recording took place, Brooks says he was monitoring the halls and approached 10 to 12 students who were supposed to be in class. Brooks says the students were instead in the courtyard. Brooks says one student provoked him, and he defended himself. Brooks tells WFAA the student, who has not been named, made the first physical contact.
"I kinda moved my head so he caught me in the face and neck area and shoved me into some tables that was right there," Brooks said.
"I believed he had clearly been wronged, and he was within his legal rights to defend himself," said his attorney, Dan Wyde of Wyde & Associates.
The 10-second video, which has been viewed thousands of times, shows Brooks strike the student twice causing the student to fall to the floor. Brooks tells WFAA he has seen the video "more than '500 times." WFAA reached out to Dallas ISD and the District Attorney's office, and neither had any further comment.
"I believe the school needs to fully support teachers and their reasonable efforts to maintain discipline in a classroom," said Wyde.
Brooks says he'd like to get back to coaching now that the charges are dismissed and this is all over. He says he wouldn't even mind going back to DISD to continue coaching.
"I can finally just breathe a sigh of relief and just live my life like I'm supposed to," he said.
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