A Jacksonville, Fla., student was asked to remove his T-shirt Wednesday because a teacher felt the word “redneck” on it was a “slur.”
The parents of 14-year-old Christopher Olsen, who wore the shirt featuring a star from the A&E show “Duck Dynasty” and the words “Redneck of the Year,” said they don’t see how it was a dress code violation.
duck dynasty t-shirt
Christian Olsen was told by a teacher his shirt was offensive for using the term “redneck.” (Image source: WJXT-TV)
“If anything we work hard to instill good moral values and family values in our children and to me, this was almost like a slap in the face,” Bronwyn Ramsey told WJXT-TV.
“I don’t feel like it’s a violation of the school’s code of conduct. It does not promote drugs, drinking, alcohol or violence,” Ramsey continued.
There have been several stories within the last year where students have been asked by school administrators to remove T-shirts with images of guns or other content labeled “offensive.” It’s also not the first time a “Duck Dynasty” shirt has been targeted by school administrators.
Olsen told the local news station he was approached by an employee at Mandarin Middle School and was asked, “why I was wearing this shirt, ‘it’s a slur.’”
To Olsen’s mother though, the term redneck isn’t a slur.
It’s “a hard-working person from back in the day,” she said. “It’s a culture, it’s a way of life.”
Watch WJXT-TV’s report:
Duval County Schools spokeswoman Tia Ford told WJXT teachers could consider the term a violation of the code of conduct, even though the word isn’t explicitly banned in guidelines.
It’s not the first time the school district has taken issue with the word “redneck” either. In January, the district’s then-spokeswoman Jill Johnson described her husband as redneck and was re-assigned, according to WJXT.