Michigan Student Planning To Sue School, Coach After Viral Choking Incident

The student who says a coach ran up from behind him and choked him with a rolled-up shirt earlier this month is now planning to sue the man and his school ... telling TMZ Sports he's dealing with back pain and several other issues stemming from the scary incident.

14-year-old Michael Moon says it all happened back on June 4 ... after a coach at his Ypsilanti Middle School had seen him "horseplaying" with one of his female classmates.

Moon claims the coach asked him to do pushups due to the interaction -- but when Moon told him he couldn't do them because of a hand injury he had recently sustained ... he says the man became upset.

Moon tells us the coach pulled him from a classroom, called him names, threatened him, and then pushed him. Moon says he pushed the coach back, before he walked away in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.

But, Moon says the coach then came up from behind him and choked him. Some of the man's frightening actions were apparently caught on video.

Moon and his mom tell us the whole thing has left Moon traumatized -- explaining the teen has become reclusive and scared of people who come close to him. They also said Moon is planning to go to physical therapy to try to heal a back injury he suffered in the attack.

Moon's father added that they're "just disgusted by this whole thing."

Meanwhile, the student's attorney, Jordan Vahdat, told us on Thursday they're now planning to sue the school and the coach ... in order to hold everyone accountable.

"They have a duty to protect these children," Vahdat said of the middle school and its officials, "to make sure they have a safe environment for these children to learn."

"We will be filing a lawsuit shortly."