School District, Flushing Resident Reach Settlement in Civil Rights Case
COLUMBUS – After the Belmont County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office chose not to file charges against a Union Local football coach and others for an incident during halftime of the Union Local-Barnesville football game on October 24, 2024, a Flushing resident, Brent Gay, filed a federal Civil Rights violation suit against the district.
This week, the Cleveland-based lawyers representing Gay, The Chandra Law firm, announced the two had reached a settlement in the matter. The Union Local School District and its representatives will pay Gay $300,000 and will change the district policy at the heart of the suit.
Under the settlement, Union Local must also post a statement on the social media platform “X “ by Oct. 29 saying physical violence has no place in resolving disagreements.
Read the Barnesville Area News accounts from May and June 2025 on the county charges here and the filing of the federal suit here.
The settlement press release issued by Chandra Law this week may be read here.
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