Some nerve

Last December, a high school wrestling match sparked outrage when a student wrestler was told to cut his dreadlocks or face disqualification, which subsequently led to the referee being fired.

The controversy revolved around the humiliation that was involved with ref Alan Maloney enforcing the arbitrary rule against student Andrew Johnson, which many believed was motivated by racial discrimination.

Maloney has insisted that he did nothing wrong during the incident, as he was only following the rules laid out by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.

In his letter, Maloney states his case … saying Johnson’s hair length violated the rules. Maloney claims he gave Johnson time to get a hair covering, but Johnson did not have one.

So, in accordance with NJSIAA policy, Maloney says “provided the wrestler with the time to correct the deficiency” — aka, a haircut.

For that reason, he’s claiming that he’s been unjustly defamed through the media that’s smeared him as a racist, while threatening to sue the NJSIAA for $100,000 in damages.

In part of his letter to the athletic association, he states that they played a role in the defamation of his character, which he claimed caused him to lose income and suffer emotional distress.

Meanwhile, as for Johnson, he reportedly returned to the mat after the incident and qualified for the prestigious regional championships.

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