Teen sues N.J. school over suspension for redneck T-shirt

By The Associated Press

06.26.01

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Thomas Sypniewski, in March, wearing T-shirt that got him suspended from school.

NEWARK, N.J. — Thomas Sypniewski Jr. says he's proud to be a redneck and does not think he should have been suspended from Warren Hills Regional High School for wearing a T-shirt with redneck humor.

The 19-year-old from Washington Township, who just graduated, sued the school district yesterday, saying his First Amendment rights were violated because the shirt was not racist and caused no disruption.

Sypniewski, with free help from the Center for Individual Rights, a nonprofit law firm in Washington, D.C., says he wants to ensure his younger brothers don't have the same trouble he did.

"I say I'm a redneck because I like to hunt and fish, bale hay, and listen to country music. Besides that, I wear the T-shirt because I think it's funny," said Sypniewski, standing with his family on the steps of U.S. District Court.

Sypniewski was suspended for three days in March for wearing a T-shirt that bore comedian Jeff Foxworthy's "Top 10 Reasons You Might Be a Redneck Sports Fan." Among the reasons is No. 4: "Your bowling team has its own fight song."

Sypniewski said he wore the shirt to school several times during the school year without incident before the suspension.

But administrators say the shirt violates the school board's dress code, which bans clothing that portrays "racial, ethnic or religious stereotyping."

Sypniewski's mother, Nancy, said that the day after Tom's suspension, his brother Brian, 16, wore the shirt at the middle school and was not disciplined.

The school board later said "in hindsight action should have been taken" against Brian.

Sypniewski, joined in the suit by his twin brothers Brian and Matthew, seeks a court order declaring the dress code unconstitutional. He also wants the suspension expunged from his record and unspecified monetary damages, claiming the school board unfairly portrayed him as a racist.

Warren Hills school board member James W. Broscious said the district would contest the lawsuit.

"We don't see it as a First Amendment issue. The board sees it as protecting all of the students in the school from harassment," Broscious said.

Broscious said courts have upheld the use of dress codes to prevent problems, and he said that over the past two years there has been verbal abuse of black students at the four-year school. Blacks comprise about 5% of the 1,600 students, he said.

Broscious says he does not think Sypniewski was involved in the harassment, but that administrators are allowed to take steps to reduce tension. "We feel we're on solid ground," he said.

Sypniewski lawyer Gerald Walpin pointed to other rulings that required disruption before something could be banned.

Dictionaries note that redneck can be considered a derogatory term for a Southern bigot, but Sypniewski says the word has positive connotations.

Sypniewski said the original derivation of sun burnt farmers "has expanded to include big trucks, country music, good clean fun, as well as hard work."

Foxworthy, who also embraces being a redneck and made his reputation with jibes at such folks, appears to agree. In a letter distributed by the Center for Individual Rights, Foxworthy said he was surprised at the suspension.

"My definition of being a redneck has always been 'a glorious absence of sophistication' or in simpler terms — it is an attitude. Geographic, racial or economic grounds do not bind being a redneck," Foxworthy wrote.

Update

Court backs student's right to sport 'redneck' T-shirt
Federal appeals panel finds Thomas Sypniewski Jr.'s 'Top 10 Reasons You Might Be a Redneck Sports Fan' shirt wasn't disruptive.  10.04.02

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West Virginia circuit judge says free speech is 'sacred' but such rights are 'tempered by the limitations that they ... not disrupt the educational process.'  11.02.01