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North Carolina Senior Stripped of Diploma After He Strips at Graduation

The school superintendent warns that any more such pranks will be met with "long-term consequences."
Image: Quinton Murphy stripped down to his underwear during Jack Britt High School graduation in Fayetteville, N.C.
Quinton Murphy stripped down to his underwear during Jack Britt High School graduation in Fayetteville, N.C. Courtesy Lauren LeMay

A North Carolina high school senior won't get his diploma after he stripped down to his underwear onstage at his graduation ceremony, the school district said Thursday.

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Quintin L. Murphy whipped off his purple robe at Jack Britt High School's graduation ceremony Wednesday night in Fayetteville and struck a pose dressed only in leopard print skivvies, socks and shoes. He was greeted by a uniformed officer and promptly escorted from the arena.

In a YouTube video of the incident, the crowd at the ceremony can be heard laughing and yelling its approval:

Frank Till, superintendent of the Cumberland County School District, said Thursday that Murphy wouldn't get to keep his diploma, NBC station WNCN of Raleigh reported.

With five more graduation ceremonies scheduled in the district, Till warned that any similar pranks would mean "long-term consequences."

— M. Alex Johnson

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Murphy was headed to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke to play football this fall. The university says he is not a part of the class and is not associated with the football program.