N.J Wrestling Referee Involved in Dreadlock Incident Suing for Defamation
Do you remember the high school wrestler in New Jersey who was forced to cut off his dreads by the referee, or forfeit the match? The video went viral, the referee was put under investigation, and basically the whole world sided with the high school-er, Andrew Johnson.
Well now this referee, Alan Maloney, is threatening to sue for defamation. He wants 100 thousand dollars in damages!! So since the whole incident happened last year, Maloney hasn't refereed a single game , and he's upset because he still maintains his innocence. He still thinks he did nothing wrong and that he was simply following the rules that the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association lays out. Therefore, he is suing them.
Once the video went viral, literally The whole country was calling him racists and Maloney feels like the NJIAA didn't do anything to clear his name. He says hes suffered a loss of income and a lot of emotional stress so he wants to be paid.
As for what Andrew Johnson's team is saying about this. Well, his attorney Dominic Speziali said, "To the extent that [Maloney] plans to file a claim as a victim in this incident is outright absurd."