An order handed down Monday by the Oklahoma Supreme Court denied a couples’ request for it to step in and force the termination process of Kingfisher head football coach Jeff Myers.

The application to assume original jurisdiction was denied with all justices concurring on the matter with the exception of Dana Kuehn, who last week recused herself from the case.

An attorney for the petitioners in the case said developments last week already gave his clients what they were seeking when they filed their application.

Meantime, Myers’ attorney called the filing “frivolous” and suggested his client would seek relief from the court related to the proceedings, including monetary.

No opinion from the court was released with the order at press time.

The application was originally filed Aug. 28 with Justin and Lyndy Mecklenburg serving as the petitioners.

They were asking the Supreme Court to order a writ of mandamus compelling Kingfisher Public Schools to initiate the process of terminating Myers.

Named as respondents in the application were KPS, Superintendent David Glover, Oklahoma State Department of Education, Oklahoma State Board of Education and Ryan Walters, the state superintendent of public instruction.

Myers was not named as a respondent, but his motion to intervene and become a party to the case was later granted by the court.

The application also requested the OSBE exercise its authority and implement an interim ly set for trial in December. An investigation into the allegations by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation ultimately led to four people being charged last Tuesday in Kingfisher County District Court. Myers was charged with a felony count of child neglect.

to oversee the termination process.

Oral arguments were presented before an official of the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Oct. 10.

Though many of the parties are the same, the application filed with the Supreme Court is separate from the federal civil case that is currently awaiting trial.

That civil suit was filed by Justin and Lyndy Mecklenburg’s son, Mason Mecklenburg against Myers, assistant coach Derek Patterson, former assistant coaches Micah Nall and Blake Eaton and Kingfisher Public Schools in July 2021.

Mason Mecklenburg, who played football for KHS from 2017-2020 and graduated in 2021, alleged a culture of hazing, bullying and multiple forms of abuse within the program.

The case was moved to federal court and is current Nall is facing two felonies, one for child abuse and another for perjury.

School board member Dana Golbek and Justin Mecklenburg were also charged with misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse.

All four pleaded not guilty last week and are set to make their next appearances on Nov. 8. Myers was placed on administrative leave last Wednesday by the school district pending the outcome of the criminal case, meaning he cannot teach or coach in the interim.

All that happened while the parties awaited the Supreme Court’s decision.

“When that happened, KPS did more than just start the administrative process we asked for,” according to a statement released by Cameron Spradling and Nix Patterson, LLP, co-counsel for the petitioners.

“Indeed it placed Myers on indefinite leave and removed him from the classroom and the field. Once that happened, there wasn’t much left for the Supreme Court to do.”

Still, petitioners last Wednesday requested permission to supplement their appendix with copies of the charging documents and probable cause affidavit in reference to Myers.

“The charges against Myers are relevant to and provide additional support for Petitioners’ requested relief,” the motion stated.

The motion to include those materials was granted by the court as was a motion by Myers’ attorney, Joe E. White Jr. of White & Weddle, P.C.

Similarly, that motion contained the charging documents and probable cause affidavit relating to Justin Mecklenburg.

Among the positions it stated were that “petitioners neither alleged nor suffered any injury as a result of any action or inaction on the part of Mr. Myers” and “this matter is hyper-localized.”

In regards to the Supreme Court’s order, the plaintiffs’ statement also read: “We appreciate the Supreme Court taking a long hard look at this issue. The fact that the court had a two-hour hearing demonstrates the serious consideration the court gave to this difficult situation.”

White didn’t agree that the application was a proper use of the court’s time.

“If given the opportunity, we will certainly seek all relief the law provides us, including the attorney fees that have been incurred concerning the frivolous application the Mecklenburgs filed,” White said.

In the civil case, the Kingfisher Board of Education has rejected multiple settlement demands from the plaintiff.

Those demands have included the firing of Myers and the implementation of a mandatory training by the school district for all staff and board members “that addresses how to properly identify, respond to, and prevent bullying, hazing and sexual harassment.”

Monetary demands incrementally increased from $1.5 million, which was rejected in March 2022, and then $5 million and $10 million earlier this year.

According to the most recent scheduling order, the jury trial will begin Dec. 5 before United States District Judge Charles B. Goodwin.

Defendants have filed motions for summary judgment in the case, but those have not been ruled upon by Goodwin.

The defendants have also filed a motion for the court to strike the remaining dates on the scheduling order pending the court’s ruling on the summary judgments.

The plaintiffs have opposed that motion and a hearing for both sides to argue the matter was set for 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, at the federal courthouse in Oklahoma City.

Provided it happens, White said the federal jury trial will offer his client an opportunity to clear his name.

“Our client has been tried and pilloried with false accusations that have been repeated as fact on social media and in the news media,” White said.

“He believes his reputation can only be cleared if this case is tried in the only venue that matters and that venue is the court of law.”