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Tenn. principal says bullying ‘not as rampant.’
MAYNARDVILLE – The principal of a middle school where a student’s video about bullying went viral over the weekend said Monday that he wasn’t aware of repeated bullying of the student and that the incident described in the video had been resolved.
In the video, Keaton Jones, a sixth-grader at Horace Maynard Middle School, describes having milk poured on him and ham put down his clothes at lunch.
The video was posted Friday on Facebook by Keaton’s mother, Kimberly, and over the weekend, it garnered the attention of celebrities, athletes and others, all of whom were quick to condemn bullying with the hashtag #StandWithKeaton.
Fake social media accounts soliciting donations have also complicated the support Keaton has received.
“It’s not as rampant as the video would have you believe,” Principal Greg Clay said. “I can’t tell you what was done, but I can tell you action was taken with the children.”
Clay said he wasn’t aware of Jones being repeatedly bullied, and the incident described in the video was resolved weeks ago.
Kimberly Jones said in her Face- book post that she picked her son up from school early Friday because he was afraid to go to lunch.
She did not respond to a Facebook message seeking comment Monday morning.
Since the video went viral, Keaton’s mother has also been attacked over a separate message she allegedly posted on her Facebook page that some criticized as racist. It was accompanied by images that prominently featured the U.S. flag and the Confederate battle flag that some people consider a symbol of racism.
Clay said Horace Maynard Middle School is no different from many other schools where bullying can be a problem.
“We’re having a good school year,” Clay said. “Everybody saw the video, and it was horrible. We don’t want anyone to feel like that. Keaton’s a good kid. We’ll take care of him.”
Other parents in the district said Monday that bullying is occasionally a problem but that they didn’t think it was any more of an issue in Union County than elsewhere.
LeAnn Ray, 43, whose son is in seventh grade at Horace Maynard, said he faced a bullying problem last year. She reported it to the school resource officer, who “handled it pretty well,” and after that, “the kid left him alone,” Ray said.