Alan Maloney, the New Jersey high school wrestling referee who made international headlines last year, is seeking $100,000 and is claiming defamation over the fallout from his decision to force Andrew Johnson to either cut his dreadlocks or forfeit his match.
TMZ Sports reports Maloney has sent a letter to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association to let the entity know he is seeking $100,000 in damages. In that letter, Maloney alleges that the NJSIAA did not protect him from the widespread, national narrative that his decision was racially motivated.
Maloney hasn’t been allowed to referee a match since the video of him forcing Johnson to cut his dreadlocks went viral. The NJSIAA has since suspended him from those duties as it investigates the incident.