Family of Georgia student Sam McNair suspended for teacher hug files appeal

I really hope they win because a 1 year suspension for a hug is insane!

CNN reports the family of a Georgia student suspended for the rest of the school year for hugging a teacher has filed an appeal with the school board, the teen's mother told CNN on Wednesday night.

Sam McNair, a 17-year-old high school senior in Duluth, Georgia, was suspended December 3 for sexual harassment.

Surveillance video captured the hug in question, showing Sam placing his arms around the teacher and giving her a hug. The teacher then pushes him away.

McNair told "Piers Morgan Live" that he had hugged that teacher at Duluth High School before.

"Four or five times," he said. "I hug all my teachers. It's to show appreciation for what they do for me."

He denied that the teacher had told him before to not hug her again. He also said that his lips and cheeks definitely didn't touched the teacher's neck, as is alleged in a discipline report obtained by CNN affiliate WGCL.

In a statement earlier this week, Sloan Roach, a spokesperson for the Gwinnett County Public Schools, told CNN, "Hearing officers consider witness testimony, a review of the known facts, and a student's past disciplinary history -- including long-term suspensions that result in alternative school placement -- when determining consequences."

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