A student he mentored faked a fight for his birthday

Bobby Davis, the 51-year-old principal of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School in Georgia, was in his office when a student rushed in reporting a fight in the cafeteria. Davis bolted down the hall. He arrived to find a ring of students with phones raised and two kids apparently going at it in the middle. He pushed through and grabbed a boy he knew well, one with a history of fighting. Then the crowd broke into cheers. "Happy Birthday!" It was Davis's birthday, and the whole thing was staged by 17-year-old De'Zayviun Watkins, the student he had grabbed. Watkins told TODAY that Davis, who also coaches football, helped him work through his anger and turn toward writing poetry and composing music. Watkins kept calling himself a "bad kid." Davis would not accept it, calling him "a great kid." Davis jumped up and down like a child, which, on his birthday, seemed fair enough.