Back when my youngest son was in middle school, there were these two boys who thought they were hot stuff and they started messing with him, especially on the bus. Finally, one day he had enough and when challenged, he beat the crap out of one of the bullies, with my blessing. Both my son and the bully received the exact same punishment for fighting, regardless of the history and circumstances.
I knew what was going on and countered the school's lack of common sense by not punishing my son. Just to clarify, I didn't encourage him to become a bully himself, but to defend himself.
BTW, my son played football and also started power lifting and also wrestled. He countered the bullying crap by developing himself. He became a New York State Champion in power lifting in his senior year of high school and he plays college football now for a school out in the mid-west.
Lesson to be passed on. If your kid is getting bullied, encourage them to develop themselves through weight training, self defense training and stand with them when they defend themselves, especially at school, because they will get in as much trouble as the bullies, but after they get their butts kicked, the bullies will leave them alone. That's the only thing that works.
I couldn’t agree more. My son also played football, holds a blackbelt and was the strongest receiver on his team. At 5-10 180 he has no worries now. Good for your son.