Family Sues School Over Student's Suspension for 'Warrior Paint'

The lawsuit argues the school violated the boy's constitutional rights by punishing him for showing spirit at a football game.

An eighth-grade student in La Jolla, California, was suspended from school for two days and banned from attending San Diego Unified School District sporting events for the remainder of the year after wearing 'warrior paint' at a football game, which the school principal characterized as a 'hate incident'.
The boy's family is suing Muirlands Middle School Principal Jeffrey Luna and Lamont Jackson, the superintendent of the SDUSD, for violating the boy's First Amendment rights, his right of due process, and the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
The lawsuit argues that the boy was simply emulating 'eye black warrior paint' that is often used by athletes during a game, and had no intent to mimic or mock anyone.
The family seeks to have the boy's sporting-event ban lifted, his disciplinary record pertaining to the incident expunged, a declaration that the actions taken against the boy violated his constitutional rights, and damages to be determined at trial.
The case raises questions about the limits of school authority over out-of-school behavior and the interpretation of actions that could be seen as racially insensitive.