Woman says granddaughter faces discrimination at school for wearing Broncos gear on 'Blue Friday'
TACOMA -- A Tacoma woman says her 5-year-old granddaughter was discriminated against at school because she was wearing a Broncos jersey on ‘Blue Friday’.
For the little girl, a Edison Elementary kindergartener, nothing beats her Broncos. So on Blue Friday, the wardrobe choice was obvious. She wore a Denver Broncos cheerlead outfit.
“The rules at school is they can wear whatever team that they want to,” said the grandmother, Fawn Allen.
But Allen said this Friday her granddaughter's teacher tried to twist school rules.
“Her teacher happens to be an avid Seahawks fan so she called her aside and told her that she was not allowed to wear her Broncos dress, that if she didn't have a Seahawk shirt she had to wear her uniform,” Allen said.
She added that when she met her granddaughter for lunch, she could see that her spirits were broken.
“She walked up to me and I knew something was wrong and she just kind of put her head down: 'I can't wear my Broncos dress,'” Allen said.
Grandma immediately marched to the principal’s office.
“We trust her to this teacher every day ... to teach her, to protect her, to build (her) up ... not tear her down because of the football game.”
A Tacoma School District representative said it wasn't clear what the teacher said to her student about the dress.
"The teacher didn't understand the full scope of what 'Blue Friday' means and sought clarification from the principal. 'Blue Friday' means all teachers and students can wear gear from whatever team they want," Dan Voelpel, public information officer for the school district, said in a written statement.
For this family, ‘Blue Friday’ doesn't only mean Seahawks blue.
“That's what she's going to continue to wear because the rules state they can represent any team they want to. Except the 49ers!” Allen said, laughing.
The Tacoma School District maintains that this was a simple misunderstanding and that even teachers at Edison Elementary wear team jerseys other than the Seahawks every Blue Friday.