A New Jersey referee with an alleged racist past forced a high school wrestler to cut off his dreadlocks, prompting a firestorm of criticism, according to reports Friday.
Student wrestler Anthony Johnson, who is black and attends Buena Regional High School, was ordered by the sports official to either get rid of his ‘do or forfeit his match Thursday, according to NJ.com.
The white ref, Alan Maloney — who issued the edict and was caught dropping the N-word two years ago — quickly came under fire when a video of a trainer snipping the teen’s locks was posted online by SNJ Today News.
“This is aggressively anti-black. Something tells me this wasn’t [Johnson’s] first wrestling match ever, so every other referee until this one deemed this boy’s hair a non threat/risk,” one person slammed on Twitter.
Another user fumed, “This is racism, pure and simple. And every single adult in that facility should be fired for doing that to him, especially that racist referee!”
Johnson’s team had been facing off at a dual meet against Oakcrest High School in Hamilton when the ref ordered the snipping — without giving the student the option of wearing a cap, according to NJ.com.
“The wrestler’s coaches argued the referee’s decision for several minutes until the referee started the injury time clock. At this point, the wrestler removed the cap and agreed to have his hair cut,” Mike Frankel, an SNJ Today News reporter who attended the match, said on Twitter.
But league rules state that wrestlers with hair below their ears are simply required to wear a head cover.
“Wrestlers opting to wear a legal hair cover must wear it to the weigh-in and be checked for grooming. The legal hair cover must be removed prior to the wrestler stepping on the scale to be weighed,” according to New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association after the incident.
In March 2016, Maloney used the racial slur during an argument over homemade wine at a Jersey Shore condo after a youth-wrestling tournament in Wildwood, according to NJ.com. He later apologized.
On Friday, Maloney didn’t return a request for comment, according to the outlet.