Jackson Douglas got his Checkmat black belt in 2020 under Lucas Leite. He competed at the highest level. And in March 2026, the organization expelled him over a weekend.

The sequence: On a Friday, Douglas was at Checkmat headquarters in Signal Hill when Gleyce Kelly — wife of co-founder Leo Vieira — asked where he was teaching. He told her: a non-affiliated academy. The owner had no interest in joining any team. His students weren't competitors. He ran internal tournaments to keep them motivated.

By Sunday morning, Leo Vieira had removed him from the organization. No phone call. No sit-down. No conversation with his professor.

The stated reason: he hadn't put the Checkmat patch on his gi. Douglas says he never even took the gi out of his bag.

"How can I think long term if my rent is due next month?" Douglas said afterward. "My car has to be paid. Real life."

Checkmat's group chat response emphasized "discipline, teamwork, and good character." Attitudes like "laziness, ingratitude, and pride," they wrote, "can distance a person from their purpose."

Friday to Sunday. That's how fast Checkmat moves when a coach teaches at the wrong building.

Here's the other timeline.

More than two years before Douglas was expelled, former student Julia Angelica sent correspondence to Checkmat leadership detailing what she characterized as inappropriate conduct by co-founder Leandro Vieira — conduct she says began when she was a minor at her first Pan American championship. Checkmat's response, according to Angelica: a brief message thanking her for the feedback. Then a message from Vieira himself, who reportedly said he hadn't finished reading her email because he was traveling and offered to meet in person to "clear any misunderstandings."

Two years passed. Checkmat suspended Vieira only after Angelica went public in February 2026.

Then the rest came. Alyssa Mila accused co-founder Ricardo "Rico" Vieira of misconduct when she was 16. Julia Trevino filed a lawsuit in California alleging sexual abuse during a juvenile Pan American trip. The suit names NorCal Checkmat Management and American Kickboxing Academy alongside Vieira, alleging supervisory failures and concealment of evidence.

Angelica's assessment of the institution's track record: "This makes THREE CHECKMAT BLACK BELTS that I know have been made aware of inappropriate conduct that STILL remain part of the team."

Three black belts who knew. Two co-founders accused. One active lawsuit. And the organization's official messaging, through the entire thing, kept coming back to discipline, teamwork, and good character.

Jackson Douglas's crime was earning a living at the wrong address. He was gone in 48 hours.

Checkmat was never slow. They were selective.

Sources

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