The parents of a California middle school student accused of “blackface” for trying to apply eye paint to imitate his favorite football player are suing over his “ridiculous decision to suspend him.” .
“The only people showing absolute racism at this point are the school administrators,” father Daniel Ameduri said of his 13-year-old son, identified only as JA for privacy reasons.
“There wasn't even a serious investigation done,” he said. he told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday..
The young football fan said “no one said anything” when he covered his cheeks and chin at the Oct. 13 game, and claimed that a black security guard even encouraged him to cover up more.
“Everything was normal. No one said anything. It was just a normal football game,” said JA, who applied eye paint himself, as he had done many times before. He said.
But a week after the game, the principal at Muirlands Middle School called him and his parents and told them JA had been suspended for two days and was banned from participating in any future athletic events.
The disciplinary notice said JA “painted his face black during a football game” and characterized the incident as “offensive comments” that were “intended to cause harm.”
Principal Jeff Luna reportedly said this was offensive because one of the schools the team was playing at, Morse High School, is “majority black.” According to California Coast News.
However, attorney Karin Swigert argues that: Lawsuit filed in the Southern District of California JA is simply emulating the “black-eyed warrior paint” often used by athletes during competition.
“So for them to do something as innocent as going to a football game and rooting for the opposing team, and then suddenly say it's a hate crime without any evidence, is a huge leap in logic.” she told CBS 8.
“He didn't know what 'blackface' was. [a] It’s a new concept for him,” she claimed.
“That's ridiculous.”
Lawyers representing J.A.'s family have previously argued that J.A.'s appearance “imitates the style of eye black worn by many athletes,” adding, “The use of such eye black reduces glare during games. “It started as a way to reduce the amount of heat, but it evolved into 'miniature' a long time ago.” They include personal messages and signs covered in war paint. ”
They argued that it is different from blackface, which is “heavy makeup worn to imitate the appearance of black people, especially to mock or ridicule black people.”
A new lawsuit claims the San Diego Unified School District violated JA's First Amendment free speech rights and failed to provide students with due process.
“We are directly suing the principal, the superintendent, and those who made the decision to rubber-stamp the principal's foolish decision to suspend JA,” Swigert told “Fox & Friends.”
The lawsuit seeks to have the suspension removed from the boy's academic record, which the Center for American Freedom argues “could impact his ability to gain admission to high school, college, and certain occupations.” There is.
“JA’s future is at stake” American Freedom Center says on the website.
“In America, we pride ourselves on the idea that the accused is innocent until proven guilty,” the website says.
“We cannot allow cancel culture to trample on such fundamental principles.”
The newspaper has reached out to the San Diego Unified School District and Superintendent Luna for comment.
