Controversial high-school wrestling referee Alan Maloney, who has been accused of racist language in the past, forced wrestler Andrew Johnson to cut off his dreadlocks before a match, saying he would be disqualified if he didn’t. Johnson had his dreads cut and won the match anyway.
According to the Courier-Post of New Jersey, Maloney has been accused of using a racial slur at a social gathering in the past. The gathering was with a bunch of other referees, and Maloney faced a disciplinary hearing for the incident and had to undergo sensitivity training. Witnesses to this incident with Johnson point out this is evidence that his behavior and thinking has not changed.
Disgusting and heartbreaking. A referee known for his racism, Alan Maloney (google him), made high school wrestler Andrew Johnson cut off his dreads or lose the match. They were covered and gave him no advantage. So he cut them off. He won the match. Never should’ve been allowed. pic.twitter.com/ChMXPBzHPk
— Shaun King (@shaunking) December 21, 2018
Call 973-214-9566 and ask Mark Sherman that Alan Maloney be fired as a NJ Ref. The treatment of this young man along with the racial slur he made 2 years ago makes him unfit.
Shameful.
Parents tell me he’s been awful for generations. https://t.co/ta2LAqmYtk
— Shaun King (@shaunking) December 21, 2018
Shaun King, a columnist with The Intercept, notes that the dreadlocks gave Johnson no advantage in the match and were covered in compliance with high-school wrestling rules.
The video is a tough watch, if not for the actual cutting of his dreads, which is awful enough, but for his face as Maloney declares him the winner of the match. Pure pain.
