Ref Who Made Teen Wrestler Cut Locks Files $100K Lawsuit

Source: Ute Grabowsky / Getty

He Basically Claims He Was Only “Following The Rules”

Here we go…

The New Jersey ref who forced a Black wrestler to cut his dreadlocks back in December is now clapping back with a lawsuit. After the incident went viral and faced widespread backlash, Alan Maloney is citing defamation of character and emotional distress in his suit.

According to NBC News, Maloney, who is White, said in his legal filing that he “properly performed his duties as the referee and fairly applied the rules governing a wrestling match” when he demanded Andrew Johnson to cut his hair before a match or forfeit the game.

After Johnson tearfully watched his dreads fall to the ground, the video of the incident faced condemnation from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Olympic wrester Jordan Burroughs and the state ACLU. New Jersey’s Civil Rights Division and its interscholastic athletic association began separate investigations of the incident. Meanwhile, Buena school officials said that after the match and backlash from the video, Maloney would no longer referee any meets and the interscholastic athletic association banned him from officiating meets until the investigations were complete.

Maloney named a bunch of defendants in his legal filing dated March 6. They included the borough of Buena, its high school and school district, and the New Jersey Attorney General and New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association. Maloney lists his injuries, losses and damages as defamation of character, emotional distress and loss of income.

Blah, blah, blah.

Funny how this is Maloney’s first public remark about the incident, yet he had no words for the hurt teen who had to see his luscious hair fall to the ground.

The attorney for Andrew Johnson’s family called BS on Maloney’s legal filing, calling it “outright absurd.”

“His description of events misstates the facts and the applicable rules, both of which show that Andrew should have been permitted to wrestle — just as he did four days earlier — without a hair covering, without having to first cut his hair, and without Maloney’s unjustified interference,” Dominic Speziali said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Maloney is seeking $100,000 in damages.

The caucasity continues.