Teacher Fired After Putting Student Who Hit Him In A Headlock Gets Praised By People Who Say Kids Need To Learn 'Respect'
Viewers believe the teacher showed incredible restraint and had every right to defend himself. But, how would you feel if this student was your kid?
TikTok A high school teacher has been fired following a viral video that shows him defending himself from a student who tried to fight him.
The video, which was posted on Twitter and has since amassed over 16.3M views, showed the student approaching the teacher and egging him on.
The teacher defended himself by putting the kid in a headlock after the fight escalated.
The teacher, who was a substitute at Golden Valley High School, got into an argument with a student that turned physical during 5th period on March 24th.
The clip, which was taken by another student in the classroom, was posted on Twitter with the caption “Justified? Merced, CA High School Teacher gets Fired after defending himself from a Student who wanted the 1 on 1…”
It’s unclear what led to the altercation, but the student in the video—who appeared to be Caucasian—is heard using derogatory slurs. He says “Wassup? Wassup n—? I’ll slap the f— out of you” before getting right in the substitute's face.
The teacher pushes him off and tells him “You need to back up” but the student continues stepping closer to him. As the teacher turns around to walk away, the student shoves him from behind and says “get the f— out of here boy.”
Then, the teacher turns around and throws the notebook he is carrying at the student—which could have been a contributing factor to his termination. The student then throws multiple punches at the teacher's face, but the teacher does not fight back. Instead, he gets behind the student and restrains him against a desk to de-escalate the situation. The student then returns to his seat while still asking “Wassup?”
The school investigated the incident and ‘took appropriate corrective action.’
Merced Union High School District issued a statement after the altercation saying, “Merced Union High School District (MUHSD) takes student and staff safety seriously and conducted a thorough investigation. Additionally, a police report was filed, and appropriate corrective action was taken.”
The district has stated that they cannot provide further details regarding the incident due to privacy laws. It’s unknown if the teacher was fired, but videos are swirling of many advocating for his justice.
Those who saw the video thought it was unbelievable that the teacher got fired for defending himself.
“He got fired for what?,” asked one user on Twitter. “He just put the kid in a headlock to defend himself.”
“He never put him in a headlock,” another replied. “Just grabbed him in his upper body to restrain him. The student needs to be charged with assault and battery, and the teacher needs to sue the school for wrongful termination!”
“How about ‘arrest kids who assault teachers’ instead of ‘fire teachers who don’t take the beating?’ Just a suggestion,” writes another.
“Let’s start holding these students accountable for their actions!! Instead of making them think they can get away with anything! This is the problem in today's society… For simply just defending himself he got fired??? These kids are disrespectful and need to learn discipline..,” writes a fourth user.
Maddie Haley is a writer for YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers pop culture and celebrity news.