WBTV reached out to McMillian to ask about the allegations but did not hear back.“This isn’t running laps, this isn’t doing up-downs,” explained Stuart Cramer High School Football parent Mark Harris.It is a maneuver Billie Williams said injured her grandson.Harris said he was so disturbed by what he heard, he sent an email to the […]
WBTV reached out to McMillian to ask about the allegations but did not hear back.“This isn’t running laps, this isn’t doing up-downs,” explained Stuart Cramer High School Football parent Mark Harris.It is a maneuver Billie Williams said injured her grandson.Harris said he was so disturbed by what he heard, he sent an email to the principal and one of the Gaston County school board members outlining the incident.“Like a worm which left blisters and scabs from their knees all the way down to their feet,” explained Stuart Cramer High School Football parent Amber Dye.GASTONIA, N.C. (WBTV) – Following a football practice where Stuart Cramer High School parents report players suffered injuries after the head football coach retaliated, WBTV pushed the school district for answers and the coach was removed from the football team staff.The district would not comment on why McMillian is still teaching and coaching golf after being removed as football coach.
It started, parents say, when players posted a video on social media shot inside the post-game locker room following a game loss where a coach is heard shouting at the players.Personnel records show after WBTV started asking questions, McMillian was removed as the head football coach but is still coaching golf at the school and still teaching. The response from the school is one the parents who spoke to WBTV say is not good enough.Parents at Stuart Cramer sent WBTV photos of blistering and bruising on Stuart Cramer High School football players following a practice during the Fall 2024 season that they emailed to school administrators voicing their concern.Harris elaborated, “With their helmet on that was digging into their neck.”Harris said, “I mean, this guy, it’s like he’s untouchable.”When Monday practice rolled around, the parents’ emails detail that Stuart Cramer High School Football Coach Ben McMillian addressed the recording, reportedly making the players apologize to the team before making them inch across the football field on their knees with their heads on the ground and hands behind their backs.When WBTV asked Gaston County Schools about the incident, a spokesman for the district said in part, “The school is aware that two student-athletes were disciplined for behavior that does not align with team expectations; they were asked to perform a variation of an ‘army crawl’ workout which is used in sports training as a conditioning exercise.”The school district also said it could not substantiate any allegations of abuse.Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.“He said he got grass up his nose from putting his hands behind his back and going 100 yards on his face. Kids get hurt playing football every day. That’s not the issue,” explained Williams. “He tells my grandson, ‘I’m trying to make you a better husband and father.’ I’m sorry, I don’t want him to be like that. I don’t want him to lose his temper and throw things over a ball game.”
