High school bans students from wearing non-Seattle sports apparel because of gang issues

EVERETT, Wash. -- Mariner High School administrators have banned jerseys and sports apparel not related to a Seattle team.

“I think it’s very ridiculous,” former student Marc Escalera.

The new policy has nothing to do with sports but everything to do with gangs.

“I see a lot of reds, the bloods, are whatever,” student Jenny Rosales said.

But Rosales added that she feels there is no danger because students who say they are in a gang are joking around.

The Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force says some students are wearing different colored sports apparel simply to associate with different gangs. Worried about possible violence, they recommended the policy to the school.

“We can’t wear lanyards now, we can’t wear jerseys if they restrict us. We're basically going to be wearing uniforms at the end of the day,” student Kevin Mach said.

“I don’t think there is a gang problem so I don’t agree with what they are trying to do,” student Diana Antoci said.

But one mom who has two kids attending the school says her family is on board.
“I think it’s a good idea,” Fatou Darboe said.

That’s because she believes the gang problem is growing in Everett, especially along Casino Road.

"Sometimes kids are scared to go out because of the gang, especially late at night,” Darboe said.

But most students we spoke with say administrators are overreacting.

“I rarely see fistfights, maybe once out of my four years -- that’s any high school,” Mach said.

“You can’t punish our whole school for a couple of people. If anything, you have to talk to those gang people,” Antoci said.

But even if they don’t agree, students say they will comply.

“Follow the rules and go along with it for a while,” Rosales said.

The Mukilteo School District's spokesperson was not available for an on-camera interview Wednesday but said the decision boiled down to student safety. They released the letter sent to parents by Principal Brent Kline.

It reads in part:

We made the decision to ban professional sports team apparel as we have learned that gangs are using it as a way to identify themselves.  We want our students’ focus to be on school and we want our teachers’ and administrators’ time to be used on teaching and learning—not dress and gang issues.  We have recently realized that we should have reworded the new policy to allow students to wear apparel from all colleges and universities (not just Seattle area college and universities). We will make that revision public to students at the start of the school year.  Our ban of professional sports team apparel outside of Seattle remains in effect.