Rush Probst on throwing headset at his son on the sidelines: ‘He’s mine and I’m going to discipline him’

Rush Propst’s questionable side behavior is well known, and on Friday night, the overzealous football coach added to his history of erratic in-game incidents.

Probst is the new head football coach at Peel City. In his first game at Alabama since his resignation from Hoover in 2007, Probst threw the headset at his son, John David Probst.

The headset was detached from John David Probst’s helmet and added to the chaotic sequence during Bell City’s 28-24 loss to Moody.

The bizarre moment came during a game stoppage following a personal penalty against Modi for a late kick out of bounds. Tensions ran high throughout the week leading up to the match between the two rivals.

There was a lot of trash chatter on social media as well as a billboard promoting the game. The out-of-bounds hit sparked a brawl between the two teams near the Bell City sideline.

When Probst saw his son trying to rush into battle, he reacted by ripping off the headset and throwing it at his son from a short distance.

Peel City athletics director Xavier Robinson stepped in by pulling John-David Probst out before anything else could mount.

Probst’s wife, Stephanie, was also on the sidelines during the match. Stefnie Propst serves the Pell City Football Team in a role similar to Director of Football Operations.

Throwing the headset seemed to startle nearby players and let the steam out of the skirmishes. The headset was collected and repaired and the match resumed after corresponding penalties had been assessed against both teams.

After the match, Probst was asked about hitting his son with a headset. Part of the reason Probst returned to coaching high school football was to coach his son.

“He knows better than to do some stupid (things),” Probst said. “I got mad at him, but he’s mine and I’m going to discipline him on Sunday, but there are things you can’t do, you know?

“It’s football and he’s a footballer and he knows best. He’s been around long enough to know how to act.

Propst’s return to Alabama is one of the biggest stories in prep football to kick off the high school football season. There is a lot of interest in Propst all over the state but especially in Peel City and surrounding areas. Moody High School was packed with fans for the season opener. Bell City hosts Leeds next Friday.

Propst gained national attention while coaching at Hoover from 1999 to 2007. He won five state championships and the Hoover football team was the subject of the MTV reality show Two-A-Days.

Probst resigned in the face of multiple scandals including an alleged change of degree and an extramarital affair with Peel native Stephanie Duck. Probst later married Duck, and they had four children.

After his stint at Hoover, Probst won two state championships in Georgia, but found problems there as well.

He was disciplined for headbutting a player during a game in 2015 and was subsequently expelled by Colquitt County High School for a variety of alleged wrongdoings.

After volunteering for a year with the UAB soccer team in 2019, Probst returned to Georgia in 2020 and coached Valdosta. That period did not last long and saw accusations of illegally recruiting players.

Bell City led 1-9 in 2022 but looked to improve significantly in Friday’s season opener against Moody.

“I pushed this team probably harder than any team I’ve pushed,” Probst said. “Maybe I pushed them too hard to be honest with you. I thought for that extra week, I’m never going to do that again. I’m never going to start a week early again. I guess that’s too much.”