Parents object to haircut punishment

HAMILTON, Ohio, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The parents of an Ohio eighth-grader said they disagree with teachers who issued him an in-school suspension for his Cincinnati Bengals-inspired hairstyle.

Tina Wanamaker and James Reader of Hamilton said officials at Garfield Middle School told them their son, Dustin Reader, will continue to serve in-school suspension until his hair grows out or he gets a different cut, the Hamilton Journal-News reported Thursday.

The eighth-grader was first sent to in-school suspension, which means he attends school and performs his work but is kept isolated from other students, when he arrived for school Monday with his new haircut, which features Bengal stripes on the sides and a capital "B" on the back.

"This is a way for him to express pride in the Bengals' putting up a winning season," James Reader said. "It's not racist, not drug-related, not gang-related or anything like that. It's about football."

The parents said they are standing by their son's decision not to change his hair.

"We're not going to fix it," Wanamaker said. "He's still going to school and I'm proud of him for that."