A California middle schooler sparked controversy recently over demonstrating team spirit at a local football game. The boy, known only as J.A., is a student at Muirlands Middle School in San Diego. He reportedly attended an October 13 football game between La Jolla High School and Morse High School, but it wasn't his behavior that caused a dispute. Instead, some say he was representing himself in blackface.
On the other hand, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, claims the young boy was wearing black paint like what football players wear and meant no harm. The school administration seemingly disagreed and suspended J.A.
More from CafeMom: NYPD on the Hunt for Woman Who Threw Coffee at Dad & Toddler in Playground 'Hate Crime'
J.A. was just having a good time.
His father, who was not identified, told Cal Coast News that his son put the paint on in support of the team and it was not intended to be blackface.
"He had a fun, great night without any trouble," he said. The dad added that no one at the game had any problem with the way J.A. was made up, and a Black security guard even told him to add more.
The family attended the game in their free time and not as part of a school function. The trouble started when they heard from someone at the middle school.
Five days later, the principal called.
Muirlands Middle School Principal Jeff Luna reportedly called J.A.'s dad into the office to discuss the face-painting incident. He told Cal Coast News that Luna accused J.A. of blackface because the population of Morse High School is mainly Black. According to a suspension notice provided to the news outlet by J.A.'s father, his son participated in a "hate incident."
J.A. was subsequently punished.
According to his father, Luna suspended J.A. for two days, and he banned him from attending any San Diego Unified School District sporting events for the rest of his eighth-grade year.
The father told Cal Coast News that he did not agree with the decision and that his son didn't do anything wrong. He is appealing the suspension.
FIRE is campaigning for J.A.
FIRE believes the school unfairly targeted J.A. and wants justice for the middle schooler.
"As the First Amendment protects J.A.'s non-disruptive expression of team spirit via a style commonly used by athletes and fans — notwithstanding your inaccurate description of it as 'blackface' — FIRE calls on the school to remove the infraction from J.A.'s disciplinary record and lift the ban on his attendance at future athletic events," Aaron Terr, the group's director of public advocacy, wrote in a letter to San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Lamont Jackson.
The organization attached an image of J.A. with dark paint on his face, as well as images of professional football players with similar looks. They say the claim that J.A.'s face paint constituted blackface is frivolous.
"'Blackface is dark makeup worn to mimic the appearance of a Black person and especially to mock or ridicule Black people.' It has its origins in racist minstrel shows that featured white actors caricaturing black people and generally entails covering the entire face in dark makeup and exaggerating certain facial features," FIRE's letter adds. "By contrast, J.A. followed a popular warpaint-inspired trend of athletes applying large amounts of eye black under their eyes, which has no racial connotations whatsoever."
More from CafeMom: White Woman Hurls Anti-Black Racial Slurs at Mom & Kids, Throws Red Pepper on 5-Month-Old
The incident caused a bit of controversy.
FIRE posted a video about the incident on TikTok, defending J.A.
Some thought J.A. was wearing a lot of paint but not enough to be considered racist blackface.
"that's a bit much for eyeblack," someone commented.
Another person agreed, writing, "That A LOT of eyeblack, but it's not blackface. Clearly not ill-intended in any way."
The TikTok account @americanfreedomtribe also posted about the incident, and people thought the school overreacted.
"total bulls— ! kids are kids," one comment reads.
"this is ridiculous," someone else wrote.
Another person pointed out it's not just athletes who wear paint. "Hunters put that stuff on their face."
J.A.'s father has no plans to back down. "I will absolutely clear his name," he told Cal Coast News.
