Student charged with felony hate crime stays on football team
A Tuscola football player charged with a felony cross burning targeting a biracial classmate will remain on the team, at least for now.
Ben Greene, a rising junior and running back on the varsity football team, will have to sit out two games and do 25 hours of community service, according to school board policy. He can continue to practice and train with the team and is free to take the field again after sitting out the requisite number of games.
Cross burning evokes memories of past racial violence
Four teenagers in Haywood County were recently charged with burning a cross in the yard of a biracial classmate.
The act is considered a hate crime, a severe form of intimidation that is classified as a felony. All four students charged with the crime attend Tuscola High School.
