It used to be that Bengals fans would only wear bags on their heads.
And you thought the NFL was the No Fun League? Turns out the school marms at Garfield Middle in Hamilton, Ohio, are decidedly lacking in happy genes, too.
The school, in its infinite wisdom, has penalized eighth-grader Dustin Reader for clipping. Specifically for clipping Bengals stripes and “B” insignia into his hair as a tribute to the team’s good season. At this rate, it’s a wonder the NFL hasn’t sued for copyright violation.
The school says its code of conduct prohibits extreme and distracting hairstyles and they put the kid into in-school suspension “until his hair grows out.” Reader’s parents, Tina Wanamaker and James Reader, and barber say they don’t understand why the haircut is out of bounds. His father says his son just wants to show pride in the 6-2 Bengals, according to the Hamilton Journal News:
He’s had designs on his head before and no one said anything, said Wanamaker. Previously, he’d had a rose, a spiral and the word LOST carved into his hair. On the occasion of the LOST cut, he was told by the school to fix it, but he didn’t get in trouble, they said. This is a way for him to express pride in the Bengals’ putting up a winning season, said his father. It’s not racist, not drug-related, not gang-related or anything like that. It’s about football.
The in-school suspension – Dustin is in attendance and doing his work but remains in an isolated area away from other students – will remain in effect until the hair either grows out or he gets a different cut.
