Ref Who Forced Wrestler to Cut Dreadlocks Banned 2 Years by NJ Attorney General

New Jersey high school wrestling referee Alan Maloney received a two-season ban after an investigation by the state's Division of Civil Rights into his actions during a December 2018 match involving Buena Regional High School wrestler Andrew Johnson. 

Maloney, a white referee, told Johnson, a black student-athlete, he needed to cut his dreadlocks in order to compete during a meet against Oakcrest High School.

New Jersey attorney general Gurbir S. Grewal announced the decision Wednesday and said the state's Interscholastic Athletic Association agreed to institute implicit bias training for all officials and staff, according to ESPN.

"Student-athletes should be able to compete with each other on a level playing field," Grewal said. "Racial discrimination in the enforcement of the rules of any sport is inconsistent with the spirit of fair play."

Johnson ultimately agreed to the haircut and won his match in overtime to help Buena defeat Oakcrest.

After the story made national headlines last December, a source close to Maloney told TMZ Sports the referee was "merely enforcing a rule about hair maintenance—and insists race was not a factor."

In 2016, Mark Trible of the Courier Post reported black referee Preston Hamilton said Maloney "poked his finger in his chest" and called him the N-word during an officials' event, which led Hamilton to tackle him to the ground. Maloney said he didn't remember using a racial epithet.

Maloney, who'd been suspended pending the results of the investigation, will be eligible to return for the 2021-22 wrestling season.