(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) A high school swimmer was disqualified from a race after the American flag patch on his cap was considered too large.
Rob Miller said that his son, a 16-year-old sophomore at Morristown High School in New Jersey, decided to wear a patch with the American flag to honor his grandfather, who died in the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, according to WFIN.
His son was disqualified from the swimmer’s race after the American flag that was on his cap was considered too large. The race was between Morristown’s Senior Night against Parsippany Hills High School.
According to the father, the opposing coach waited until the 400-meter free relay race was over to have the American flag measured.
“The issue is the coached [sic] waited until after the swim to get the DQ, deciding to put the burden of a ‘loss’ on a 16-year-old, letting down all the Seniors that won their last dual meet of their HS careers,” he wrote.
“He usually wears the team cap or another colored one inside out, no logo/flag. The one time he wears this in a meet and the coach DQ’d him. Unreal luck,’ he added in another tweet.
According to the Morristown swimming team’s Instagram account, “everyone knows Motown boys were the real winners.”
The race happened during Morristown High School’s senior night.
“One American flag, not to exceed 2 inches by 3 inches, may be worn or occupy space on each item of uniform apparel,” the National Federation of State High School Associations Swimming and Diving rules stated.
“By state association adoption, to allow for special occasions, commemorative or memorial patches, not to exceed 4 square inches, may be worn on the uniform without compromising its integrity.”
In a later tweet, Miller wrote that he was “guessing it could be a ‘political statement.’”
