I finally got curious and decided to google this story, and the headline is just the tip of the iceberg.Â
Let it never be said again that journalism is a humorless business.
Covering an odd tale about a 14-year-old autistic boy who was handcuffed by police and suspended for running down the sidelines of a high school football game at halftime wearing a banana costume, Washington, D.C. reporter Pat Collins donned a grape suit and went out to get his story.
Speaking to Bryan Thompson, who pulled the prank on Sept. 14 and found himself at the center of a controversy over the schoolâs response, Collinsâ sarcastic outrage seemed palpable.
âSchool officials accused him of being disruptive and disrespectful,â Collins said. âFrankly, I donât see what all the fuss is about.â
He asked the student: âWhy a banana? Why not a ⊠grape?â
âI donât know,â Thompson replied. âPotassium is great.â
Following the prank, Colonial Forge High School Principal Karen Spillman suspended Thompson for 10 days, and even recommended that he be kicked out of school for the entire year.
Shortly thereafter, Thompson had composed his own rap song about the incident (called âFree Banana Man!â), set up a Facebook page dedicated to âBanana Man,â and someone even launched a petition calling for his suspension to be lifted.
Thompsonâs outrage at the punishment was shared by his fellow students, who began creating yellow t-shirts that read, âFree Banana Man!â
So the school did what schools so often do when their authority is challenged: they banned the shirts, began confiscating them, and sent students to detention for supporting their classmate.
Thatâs when the American Civil Liberties Union got involved, telling the principal that her actions were unconstitutional.
âBut when you think about it, you might see [the schoolâs] point,â Collins jokingly concluded. âIt starts with a banana. Then, all of the sudden, you have an apple, and an orange, and maybe a grape! And before you know it, you have fruit salad in the schools! We canât have that.â
The schoolâs principal was ultimately forced to resign, and Thompson has since returned to his studies. [x]
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