Facing possible legal action, a Northern California school district has rescinded its ban on a group of high school basketball players who had planned to wear "I can't breathe" T-shirts during warm up in a tournament.
Karen Boyd, an attorney representing one of the players, said the basketball teams from Mendocino High School were notified Monday about the district's decision to lift the ban, just moments before they had planned to file court papers alleging their 1st Amendment rights were violated.
"We are thankful the district ended up doing the right thing," said Boyd, who is representing Connor Woods, one of the players who refused to stop wearing the shirt.
The Mendocino Unified School District's superintendent and attorney did not immediately return requests for comment.
Boys and girls from Mendocino High School's basketball teams had planned to wear T-shirts imprinted with the last words of Eric Garner before he was killed by a New York City police officer. The slaying has spurred a series of protests nationwide and calls for an end to police brutality.
In wearing the shirts, the students planned to send a message of solidarity with the rest of the country, Boyd said. Instead, she said, the athletes' political speech was censored.
Professional athletes, including Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant, have worn similar shirts during game warm ups.
The high school athletes' shirts were to be worn before the games, but the idea was quickly quashed by school district officials who feared the shirts would overshadow the tournament at Fort Bragg High School.
Citing safety concerns, district officials said they wanted to keep any political statements away from the tournament, so they banned the teams from playing.
Then on Dec. 24, they said the teams could compete but only if players didn't wear the shirts.
While most of the boys' team agreed, Boyd said most members from the girls' team were not swayed. The girls' team was replaced with another high school team.
Seeking legal advice about the district's ban, Connor and his father went to Boyd, who tried working with school officials.
They had planned to seek a temporary restraining order from a judge to halt the district's actions.
The teams, Boyd said, will be allowed to wear the shirts during warm-ups. Spectators will also be allowed to wear the shirts.
"In some ways," she said, the controversy was "gratifying because it brought a lot of attention to the issues."
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