The New Jersey referee who made a black varsity wrestler cut his dreadlocks to compete will no longer work in the school district, according to a report.
Alan Maloney was effectively banned this week by Buena Regional School District Superintendent David Cappuccio after a video of 16-year-old wrestler Andrew Johnson getting his locks clipped went viral.
Black high school wrestler Andrew Johnson was forced to have his dreadlocks cut off by a white referee in order to compete.
An incident the ACLU said was about race not hair.
For more news and video, head here: https://t.co/Gk97JUvZT5 pic.twitter.com/i9Jb3sdKRE
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 22, 2018
“He’s done working with our district,” Cappuccio said at an emergency education board meeting called after the incident, ABC News reported.
Dominic Speziali, an attorney representing Johnson’s family, told attendees at the meeting Wednesday that the high school student-athlete was “emotionally drained” but would return to wrestle this season.
“He had tears coming down his eyes as his locks were being cut off,” Speziali said, according to a local ABC-affiliate. The family would await the outcome of a New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association investigation before considering any further legal action, Speziali added.
Maloney, who is not an employee of the school district but was assigned to the tournament by a group sanctioned by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, told Johnson ahead of a Dec. 19th match that he could either forfeit or cut his hair, despite being permitted to compete in the past with headgear, according to Speziali.
Johnson elected for the trim and went on to win the match.
A ref’s job is not an easy one.