SAN DIEGO — San Diego County parents are seeking justice after their 13-year-old son was accused of allegedly wearing "Black face" to a football game resulting in his suspension.
The Muirlands Middle School student is referred to as “J.A.” in order to protect his privacy.
"It's just ludicrous," said Attorney Karin Sweigart with Dhillon Law, representing J.A. in this case.
In October 2023, J.A. wore black face paint to a football game between La Jolla High School and Morse High School.
The complaint reads J.A.'s friend painted dark paint on his cheeks, temples and chin; emulating "eye black warrior paint" often displayed by fans and athletes at games.
In the complaint filed, it reads the school’s principal, Jeff Luna, characterized J.A.’s face paint as “Black face."
J.A. was suspended from school for two days and banned from attending all future school sporting events.
In the suspension notice, it's listed as a “hate incident” with “offensive comment” and “intent to harm”
"And so for them to take an innocent activity of just having, you know, going to a football game and cheering for the other team and out of nowhere, with no evidence, say that this was a hate crime is just a ridiculous leap in logic," said Sweigart.
"He did not know what blackface was, it was new concept to him," she added.
In the complaint, J.A.’s parents are seeking the removal of the suspension from his record and requesting permission for him to attend future games.
"So, they're asking to have this removed from, have the suspension, removed from his permanent record, because there could be long term ramifications. He might have to not only have short-term ramifications; he would have to have this on his student records when he's applying for high schools. But also, potentially, this could come up with colleges with future job applications," said Sweigart.
"There was no disruption at all on campus, there was no disruption at the game. This was a non-event that the school turned into a hate crime. And it's just so overboard, and so unnecessary, and you have children getting hurt in the process," she added.
J.A's parents are also seeking punitive damages.
The next step is to set up a hearing date for a preliminary injunction in the coming months.
"And I will tell you that this is something that as a as an attorney, I have been dealing with in an alarming number of situations clients calling me with similar things. And these school districts need to stop. They need to stop throwing innocent children under the bus," said Sweigart.
CBS 8 reached out to the San Diego Unified School district and have not received a response.
Both of the school’s principals and football coaches have not commented at this time.