3 coaches charged after viral video of on-field fight at youth football game in Carnegie
CARNEGIE, Pa. —
Youth football coaches captured fighting during a game in Carnegie are now facing charges.
The Carnegie Police Department announced charges against Dequay Canton, Carlynton’s head coach, and two Keystone Oaks coaches, Joseph Kubiak and Frank McGrath.
“After watching that video several times, the Carlynton coach was the aggressor. He’s the one that started it. He’s the one that quit when it disengaged from the fight,” Said Carnegie Police Chief Jeffrey Kennedy.
Pittsburgh Action News 4 has learned Kubiak is also the assistant to the superintendent in the Keystone Oaks School District.
The district released a statement about his involvement:
School Board President Emily Snyder, on behalf of the Keystone Oaks Board of School Directors, has issued the following statement:
On Sunday, August 30, 2026, the Superintendent and the Board of School Directors were made aware of an incident that occurred during a youth football game between the Carlynton youth football program and the Keystone Oaks youth football program that involved a district employee, Mr. Joseph Kubiak, Assistant to the Superintendent for Operations.
The youth football league is operated by Steel City Youth Football and is independent of the Keystone Oaks School District. While this incident occurred outside of the employee’s professional duties, the district takes the incident seriously and is investigating the employee’s involvement in the incident. Furthermore, today the district has been made aware that Mr. Kubiak was issued a summary offense citation.
In the nine years that Mr. Kubiak has worked for Keystone Oaks School District, he has conducted himself with the utmost level of professionalism.
At this time, we cannot provide any further comment as this is a personnel matter and Pennsylvania School Code prohibits public comment on personnel matters.
Chief Kennedy said no parents or coaches reported the brawl. He said EMS called his officers and one parent recorded it all.
“I initially started recording just from his body language. I had a feeling that something was about to happen,” Ryan Crux told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reporter Jordan Cioppa.
Crux’s 9-year-old son plays for the Carlynton Little Cougars D2 team. He recorded the now-viral video at the team’s game against Keystone Oaks on Saturday in Carnegie.
The game was being played by 3rd and 4th grade students who are 8 and 9 years old.
The video, which has since received national attention, shows a fight between two coaches from both teams before several staff members jumped in.
Steel City Youth Football League said both coaches who were removed from the game were placed on indefinite leave while league officials conduct an investigation.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to Honus Wagner Football Field before 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Once they arrived, authorities were shown the video of the fight on the field by a parent. The officer who wrote the criminal complaint against Canton identified him as the aggressor.
Canton was seen yelling toward players, referees, and Keystone Oaks coach Frank McGrath. McGrath approached Canton and pushed him, prompting Canton to swat at him.
A fight broke out as more coaches attempted to intervene. Keystone Oaks coach Joseph Kubiak ran at Canton, who responded by tackling Kubiak. The two then began trading punches.
Canton, McGrath, and Kubiak are charged with disorderly conduct. Canton, who claims one of the coaches used a racial slur, is also charged with harassment.
“As a Black man, I was being mobbed by all their football and cheerleading staff, trying to attack me. All I could think about was fight or flight,” Canton said in part. “I’m not apologetic for standing up for my kids who saw the injustice and were the victims of racial slurs.”
Chief Kennedy said so far no one has corroborated that information.
“No one has come forward to support those statements to us. Through a third party we contacted the refs, the refs said he never came forward to them. And, if there were racial slurs, that didn’t justify the fight,” said Kennedy.
In a release from the Carnegie Police Department, the punches thrown by Canton “could have caused substantial harm” and “most definitely caused serious inconvenience.”
The release goes on to say while the Keystone Oaks coaches participated in the fight, it is not believed they started it.
Crux, the parent who posted the video, was informed on Tuesday that he is banned from all Steel City Youth Football League events.
The Notice of Permanent Removal stated in part:
“You previously received verbal warnings concerning your conduct at the practice field and your interactions with individuals associated with the program. Despite those warnings and opportunities to correct the conducts, additional incidents occurred. The board considered those incidents together, including public social-media activity and the circumstances surrounding the recent game incident.”
Crux has five days to submit an appeal. He said he believes the notice was retaliation against him for posting the video.
Canton, McGrath and Kubiak are scheduled to face a judge on their charges in October.