HS player suspended over 'hug'

Published Dec. 17, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

A high school lacrosse and football player in Duluth, Ga., has been suspended for a year midway through his senior season — for what he called a hug and a teacher called sexual harassment.

"Something so innocent can be perceived as something totally opposite," McNair told local station WGCL.

Security footage captured the incident, which you can watch in the video below.

McNair's mother, who says her son comes from a family of huggers, is protesting the decision and says the decision could cost him a scholarship opportunity.

"He plays football and was getting ready for lacrosse and you're stripping him of even getting a full scholarship for athletics for college," April McNair told WGCL.

However, McNair reportedly had been warned about inappropriate contact by the teacher, who also claimed the 17-year-old's lips brushed the back of her neck during the hug. McNair denies he kissed the teacher and said he'd hugged her before and never been warned about it.

A district spokesman said parents can appeal disciplinary decisions to the Gwinnett County Board of Education.