Buena Wrestlers Speak After Dreadlock Cutting Incident: Report

BUENA, NJ - Olivia Caldwell said she was impressed by the way the wrestlers at Buena Regional High School rallied around their teammate.

When referee Alan Maloney gave Andrew Johnson an ultimatum to cut his hair or forfeit his match against Oakcrest last week, Johnson opted to have his dreadlocks cut.

In doing so, Johnson was able to compete. He won his match that night, and helped his team to a 41-24 victory. His actions helped the team, and the team rallied to his side.

“I was hurt when I saw the video, but lifted by how his teammates rallied around him,” Caldwell told the Buena Regional School District Board of Education during its emergency meeting Wednesday night.

Caldwell is the president of the Mainland Pleasantville NAACP. She was one of several people who spoke at Wednesday night’s meeting. All those who speak saw what happened as an outrage.

Read more here: Blame Is On Alleged Racist Ref Who Made Wrestler Cut His Hair: Lawyer

On Thursday - one week after the incident - Buena competed for the first time since Johnson’s hair was cut in an incident that was captured on video and has gone viral. Once Johnson decided to cut his hair to comply with NJSIAA regulations, the team’s trainer cut his hair in public in what Buena Mayor Chuck Chiarello described as a “public spectacle.”

Johnson’s teammates spoke during the team’s appearance at the Hunterdon Central Invitational on Thursday. Johnson didn’t compete because his attorney said he isn’t ready yet. The team chose to compete because their absence would’ve caused a distraction, Buena Regional Superintendent of Schools David C. Cappuccio Jr. said on Wednesday night.

While the other Chiefs supported their teammate, and said it could’ve been handled better, they mostly hailed Johnson as a team player and said he was complying with the rules by cutting his hair, nj.com reports. Unlike those who spoke at Wednesday night’s meeting, they didn’t see a racial component to the situation.

"It was just a rule, and he did what he had to do for the team," Buena senior Jaden Roberts, who is black, told the news outlet. "It was handled perfectly fine. No matter what color skin you are you have to follow the rule and that's what happened. Drew did what he had to do for the team. He made the decision."

At least one person at Wednesday night’s meeting disagreed with the assessment that Johnson made the decision.

“They said he made the decision, I don’t agree with that,” Atlantic County Freeholder Ernest Coursey said. “He’s 16 years old, and he had to make a split-second decision. He shouldn’t have been put in that position.”

Maloney didn't attend the weigh-ins or express any concern about Johnson's hair length or need to wear a head covering before the start of the dual meet, Johnson's parents said in a statement that was posted by CBS.

Had he been there, the issue may have been settled in private before the match began. Wrestlers who spoke to nj.com on Thursday said they had their hair cut in similar situations, but never in such a public display.

Coursey and the wrestlers on the team seemed to agree that they didn’t enjoy the national attention the incident was drawing. While Johnson is staying out of the spotlight for the moment, his attorney said on Wednesday night that he would wrestle again, “and soon.”

The school district and the NJSIAA have reached an agreement that Maloney will no longer officiate any sporting events in which Buena is involved. The NJSIAA and the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights are working together to investigate the incident, and the district said it may take action based on the outcome of that investigation.

Wednesday night’s meeting was held so that the Buena Regional Board of Education could discuss “personnel matters,” but it didn’t disclose exactly what it was discussing and no action was taken.

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See related: See How NJ Ref With Alleged Racist Past Made Teen Cut Dreadlocks