A Georgia teacher was sacked from his position at Newnan High School in Coweta County after he was caught on video calling a 14-year-old the N-word in history class.
The booted teacher, Bradley Willems, began arguing with the teen over a beanie he wore to keep his dreadlocks out of his face, and the situation allegedly escalated when the boy took too long to remove it.
Willems, who was also the school’s head soccer coach, spewed the racial slur in front of the entire classroom and told the teen to “go upstairs” before continuing his lesson. A secret cellphone recording of the May 12 incident later surfaced, providing enough evidence to warrant his firing.
After class got out, the student reported Willems for using the slur. According to CBS News Atlanta, the school district immediately launched an investigation and barred Willems from his classroom while officials confirmed what happened.
On May 15, Dean Jackson, a spokesperson for the Coweta County School District, told news outlets that Willems is “no longer an employee of the school system.”
“Mr. Willems has not returned to his classroom since the incident was reported, and will not return to the classroom,” he stated. Jackson also noted that during Willems’ 26 years with the Coweta County School System, there were no previous complaints or similar allegations on his record.
The teen’s mother, Lawanda Arnold, described the incident as “heartbreaking and unacceptable” in a May 15 Facebook post where she shared the footage.
“No child should ever be humiliated or degraded at school… I know that the video is floating around, so I’m sharing this because silence protects behavior like this. Our children deserve respect and safety!!”
In an interview with local station 11 Alive, the teen’s father admitted that his son cursed during the argument, but said there was still no justification for the teacher using the slur — especially considering Willems is a history teacher.
“Him being an older guy, a history teacher, he knows the meaning of the word and all that our ancestors went through, and there’s no explanation for that,” he told the outlet. “He’s the adult in the situation; he’s supposed to be able to keep his cool and composure and do the right thing. Just send the kid out of the classroom and send him to the principal’s office.”
The parents said their son will be home-schooled for the rest of the year. Newnan High’s final day of the 2025-2026 school year was May 22.
