A Florida high school student has been suspended for 10 days after he reportedly stepped in to defend a bullied classmate. Mark Betterson, a senior East Lee County High School says he got in the middle of a fight after another student, James Griffin, threw milk in an openly gay student's face, called him an anti-gay slur and started to beat him.
The student, 18-year old Johnathan Colon, sustained bruises to the head, but Betterson believes his injuries would have been worse if he hadn't intervened. According to WFTX TV's report, Griffith began attacking Betterson after he jumped in.
"It’s not fair for somebody to get beat up for something that he is," Betterson told WFTX. "I’m not going to sit there and watch someone get bullied if I used to get bullied too."
The school has a zero-tolerance policy on fighting, so Betterson was suspended for 10 days, though he plans to appeal the decision. Griffith has been charged with battery. Watch WFTX's TV report HERE.
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