The New Jersey wrestling referee who came under fire after forcing a Black high school student to cut off his locs before a wrestling match has been released and barred from working in the school district.
The decision came after an emergency meeting Wednesday night that was called by the Buena Regional School District school board,
ABC News reports. The referee, Alan Maloney, had already been suspended indefinitely.
Maloney already had a record of racism before
he forced wrestler Adam Johnson to cut his locs or forfeit his match. Johnson had been able to participate in past wrestling matches by wearing a covering for his hair. Video of the incident went viral after it was posted online.
And although an investigation is still pending, the school district wants Maloney out.
“He’s done working with our district,” Superintendent David Cappuccio said at the meeting, according to Philadelphia ABC station WPVI
.
In 2016, Preston Hamilton, a fellow referee who is African-American, accused Maloney of calling him the N-word and pummeled him for it. Although Maloney denied it, other witnesses corroborated Hamilton’s story. Many people called for Maloney to step down or be fired from his referee position, but nothing came of it.
As for Johnson, his family says he is “emotionally drained” from the incident and ready to move on.
