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HS Runner Placed 3rd In State Finals- Then Officials Saw What Was On His Headband…
A high school cross -country runner who placed third in a state finals competition was disqualified from the race over the weekend for wearing a headband inscribed with verses from the Bible.
According to Fox News columnist Todd Starnes, the incident took place Saturday at the Georgia 5A cross-country finals, when West Forsyth High School runner John Green was disqualified after finishing the race because of the headband, despite there being no prohibition of headbands on the rule books.
The headband was embroidered with the words: “Isaiah 40:30-31.”
The Bible verses read: “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
Assistant Coach Scott Griffith said in a statement: “It is hard to understand how an unreadable, inside-out Bible verse is something harmful to our sport and worthy of a post-race disqualification of a student athlete.”
The Georgia High School Association denies that he was disqualified due to what was written on his headband. The GHSA said in a statement: “The fact that it was of a religious nature did not enter the decision whatsoever.”
According to the Forsyth County News, John had worn the headband since the start of 2015 and wore it to last year’s state meet without being disqualified.
Ten minutes before Saturday’s race, an official inspected John’s team to see that they were in compliance with the guidelines, and he gave them a green light.
Another official came by, however, and told John to turn his headband inside out because it had writing on it, and rules did not permit headgear unless it is unadorned.
Finally, just before the race, a third official came by and told the boy to take it off.
However, John’s coaches feared that, with John’s long hair, taking off the headband for the race could prove a hazard under the wet and muddy conditions.
They told him to run the race with the headband turned inside out. This had already been approved by two race officials. Furthermore, there was no rule on the books against wearing headbands specifically.
The Georgia High School Association has no rule regarding headbands, but it does allow race officials to make up rules not covered in the rule book. On Saturday, John’s headband was a considered “uniform violation,” according to the Forsyth County News.
Griffith isn’t buying the GHSA’s explanation, though. He stated: “If John did not break a rule, he cannot be disqualified from the race and his individual result and our appropriate team placing must be reinstated.”
John’s congressman, Republican Rep. Douglas Collins, also thinks that John was disqualified from his third place finish for religious reasons.
He tweeted,”Religious expression being squashed here right in the Ninth District. This is outrageous.”
What do you think? Was John disqualified for wearing a headband with Bible verse references on it?
Source: http://www.westernjournalism.com/hs-runner-placed-3rd-in-state-finals-then-officials-saw-what-was-on-his-headband/
