Posted on 05/18/2026 10:20:45 AM PDT by dennisw
A North Carolina high school was left heartbroken after a brutal judging decision cost their athletes a state championship.
Mallard Creek won the boys' 4x400m relay to secure the title, only for Nyan Brown - who ran the anchor leg - to be disqualified for celebrating too early.
During the meet in Greensboro, Brown cruised down the home straight well clear of his rivals. Just a few meters from the line, he held up five fingers.
It signaled his team's fifth championship but that title was quickly ripped away from Brown and Mallard Creek after an official punished him for unsportsmanlike conduct.
That left Mallard Creek two points behind rivals Jordan High. Victory in the 4x400m - the final event of the meet - would have secured Brown and Co 10 points.
Instead, they ended up with zero. Mallard Creek reportedly launched a protest at the event, only for the call to be upheld.
'Nyan is devastated,' Bryant Bailey, the Mallard Creek athletic director, told the Charlotte Observer.
'He’s very upset, as are we. With the state championship on the line, they decided to make that call and DQ him.
'And if you go back and look at other photos and videos throughout the week, you can see multiple instances of kids celebrating way, way harder while coming across the line than what I think our young man did.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.com ...
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Fury as high school track star is disqualified by strict judge... costing his whole team a state championship
Noting that excessive celebration is mentioned in online examples of unsportsmanlike conduct, the state actor strict sports judge's decision is possibly a violation of Mr. Brown's 1st Amendment protected free speech, applied to the states by the 14th Amendment.
In fact, given the broad language of the federal law prohibiting lawfare, the sports judge's decision arguably violates that law imo.
14th Amendment, Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States [emphasis added]; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
18U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law: Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom [all emphases added], willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death. —18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law
its racism that’s what it is
its racism that’s what it is
You are not the judge.
How should your opinion mean anything?
Well, I guess we should all just stop posting and discussing and shut the site down, because none of it means anything...
Excellent reply to HIDEK6.
Maybe we should be commenting on the societal effects of the news.
Nobody’s stopping you from commenting on whatever you like.
And nobody appointed you arbiter of how others should comment.
The lessons of Barry Sanders have been lost.
Lou Holtz: If you make it to the end zone and score a touchdown, act like you have been there before.
Sounds like it!
And his entire team can be pissed at the selfish puke.
Good grief people! Read the damn article!
He was just recently warned not to do it! He went ahead and did it. He found out!
His team can be mad all they want, they should blame him.
What a stupid ruling. All he did was hold up his hand (5 time champs) and was disqualified. What’s worse is the losing team acted as if they “really” won. Pathetic….it wasn’t even that close of a race which makes it worse.
It’s stupid regardless all these fake dumb rules so snowflakes don’t get hurt. Also, did the judge state you can’t hold up your hand to show 5 state championships in a row.
Believe me, I hate idiots that taunt, but this want that. Dumb…dumb….dumb!!!
I would like to hear the exact wording of that ‘warning’.
There was nothing ‘taunting’ or disrespectful in that gesture.
Yup.
FAFO. True Pandemic level stupidity.
look at the judge and I bet there is history of him weaponizing his role as judge. there are other ways of handling unsportsman behavior that does not penalize the other kids who had nothing to do with this behavior. I don’t see his actions warranting the penalty.
4X400m is usually one of the last events or generally towards the end of the meet.
So I imagine the officials have been warning people all day. The story mentions that this runner was personally warned for an earlier breach of the rules.
The officials at the meet made the call, a judge is not going to overrule that, especially given that the runner was warned more than once. (personal warning, coaches’ warning, general warning to all participants)
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