Student Suspended After Getting In Fist Fight With Teacher Over Face Mask

A Texas high school student was suspended after getting into a physical altercation with his chemistry teacher. Jamir Strane knows that he shouldn’t have been fighting with the school employee but was provoked after the teacher made a comment that upset him. “He said ‘you’re going to end up in the streets dead’,” Strane told News4SA. The incident began all because of the type of face mask the student was wearing.

  1. The whole incident was caught on video. The clip shows Strane’s chemistry teacher, William Bennett, straddling him while he laid on the floor, holding the teen down. It should never have gotten to that level, but Strane believes the teacher was completely out of line.
  2. The teacher didn’t like the type of mask Strane was wearing. As the teen recalled, “As I’m transitioning into my fourth period class, which is chemistry, going to his classroom, he tells me I’m not able to walk into his classroom with the bandana that I have on, but it’s a face mask. This is the first time, but I’ve worn it before in the classroom, that’s why I don’t get what he’s saying.” This bickering between the two led to Bennett making the offensive comment about Strane ending up dead on the streets.
  3. Strane is actually lucky to be alive. In July 2020, Strane was sitting on a patio with a friend when he was shot during a drive-by. The fact that he’s alive now is a miracle, but it’s no wonder Bennett’s comments triggered him. “I understand, I was in the wrong, but you don’t have a right to put your hands on me,” Strane said.
  4. Strane did suffer injuries during the fight. He says he got a bloody skinned knee and that the teacher kneed him in the face. Not only that, but he says his head is still pounding because Bennett pulled his hair.
  5. His mother, Erica Strane, supports her son. While she understands that what he did wasn’t right, she still believes what happened to him was unfair. As Erica told her son: “You know that I have your back.” Jamir replied: “I know mom, don’t want you to worry about the situation, as long as I’m not dead momma, I’m right by your side.”
Jennifer Still is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience. The managing editor of Bolde, she has bylines in Vanity Fair, Business Insider, The New York Times, Glamour, Bon Appetit, and many more. You can follow her on Twitter @jenniferlstill
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