NCHSAA football: Stuart Cramer’s Ben McMillan discusses win over CHASE
Stuart Cramer football coach Ben McMillan discusses 49-0 victory over CHASE, ending the Storm’s 13-game losing streak.
- Ben McMillan was dismissed as Stuart Cramer’s football coach after 11 seasons and a 44-75 record, amid allegations of a “toxic” culture.
- Parents and community members raised concerns about McMillan’s coaching style, alleging bullying, intimidation, and favoritism towards his son.
- School board member A.M. Stephens III advocated for McMillan’s removal, citing concerns from parents and the team’s losing record.
Dissatisfaction with a lack of success and allegations of a “toxic” culture helped lead to Ben McMillan’s dismissal as Stuart Cramer football coach, according to documents received from Gaston County Schools obtained by The Gaston Gazette via a Freedom of Information Act request for public records.
These allegations and statements were among approximately 20 emails received by the district between Aug. 1, 2024, and Jan. 10, 2025.
Tabbed as the school’s first football coach in 2013, McMillan was dismissed in January. In charge for each of the school’s 11 varsity seasons, he finished with a 44-75 record.
McMillan remains employed by Gaston County Schools as a teacher and the school’s boys golf coach.
“I’ve done everything the right way, I’m confident in that and will continue to do things that way,” McMillan said.
Stuart Cramer fans, parents log harsh criticisms of former coach
Wins were hard to come by in the latter stages of his tenure, Stuart Cramer going 6-25 in his final three seasons. Such frustrations were brought to a head last fall, particularly following a halftime tirade in which McMillan was recorded and the video shared to social media during the Storm’s 44-7 loss to South Point.
In an email sent Oct. 16 to Gaston County School Board member A.M. Stephens III, as well as Dr. Jessica Steiner, principal of Stuart Cramer High School, the parent of a Storm football player alleges McMillan “continuously bullied and/or intimidated multiple student athletes.” The email specifically pointed to the former coach’s response to the social media post, claiming “McMillan retaliated by making (student-athletes’ names redacted) put their hands behind their back, with their helmet on, and lay on their stomachs and scoot down the field like a worm for a distance of over 100 yards.”
Gaston County Schools responded to a media inquiry, stating “the school has not been able to substantiate any allegations of abuse.”
“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 said in a prepared statement. “In this case, it was used as a consequence to address the students’ behavior in lieu of other consequences such as requiring the students to sit out a game/games or dismissing them from the team.”
An Oct. 26 email sent to Cramer High and Gaston school board officials took them to task for perceived negligence of an ongoing issue. The emailer, using the alias “10/21/22” — which at the time was the date of Cramer’s last Big South 3A win prior to an October 2024 win at Forestview — contended there was concern McMillan placed more importance on his son’s progress as Storm quarterback, rather than the program as a whole. It also argued the “coaches were still ineffective” and the “program (is) on its deathbed.”
“At this point, like many before me, I am done with this school, this school system, and the fake leaders who turn a blind eye when they have an opportunity to step up and do the right thing,” the emailer said. “If I had known what I know now, my son would have been part of the statistics of transferring.
“There are (hundreds) of kids that have been cheated out of a high school experience. I implore you to change that direction today and give this community a tiny bit of hope; we deserve it.”
In a Dec. 10, 2024, email to Stephens, as well as Gaston County Schools Superintendent Morgen Houchard, another parent claimed that other parents encouraged them to leave.
“I will tell you that there were three different sets of parents (two of them own businesses that were major sponsors of the football team) of outgoing seniors last year that came up to me and my wife after the last game and told us that we should strongly consider moving our son to a different school if he planned on pursuing football in college,” the email read. “Their reasons were that this program is toxic, and there was not going to be any changes made to the coaching staff.”
School board member said superintendent should fire coach
In a Dec. 12 email to Houchard, Stephens requested the superintendent “exert your executive privilege and make the decision for Dr. Steiner.”
Along with McMillan’s 21-54 career conference record, Stephens provided other reasons he believed that someone must let McMillan go as football coach.
“They have lost confidence that any efforts with the current administration will have any positive effects; they are afraid if they speak up, their child will receive some form of retribution; they are concerned that their child would not be able to play under a more demanding coaching staff/system; because (McMillan) is genuinely a nice guy and they don’t want to negatively impact him; (and) organisms tend to prefer homeostasis (i.e., people don’t like change),” he said.
In an email statement to The Gaston Gazette, Stephens said he “was not materially involved with any of the process surrounding McMillan’s dismissal.”
“My (standard operating procedure) is to listen to those who elected me to serve and represent them, and then get in touch with the appropriate staff member at (Gaston County Schools) who can help them with their needs/concerns,” he said. “This case was in no way different.”
Almost two months after McMillan’s dismissal, Cramer has yet to fill the position. According to Gaston County Schools, a job posting received 22 applications. Of those, 20 were from outside the school district.
The school is currently conducting interviews.
This content is reposted from the source: https://www.gastongazette.com/story/sports/high-school/2025/03/06/nc-high-school-football-ben-mcmillan-stuart-cramer-parent-emails-public-records/81509951007/
