Settlement clears suspended student’s record after eye black incident, exposing reckless overreach by school administrators.
A San Diego middle school student, falsely accused of wearing “blackface” at a football game, has had his name officially cleared in a legal settlement—thanks to the determined work of Harmeet Dhillon’s Center for American Liberty. The victory is a sharp rebuke to San Diego Unified School District officials who disregarded facts in their rush to brand a student a racist.
The student, identified as J.A. in court filings, had simply worn eye black—a common sports accessory—to a game on October 13, 2023, at La Jolla High School. But that harmless show of school spirit spiraled into a smear campaign, culminating in a suspension for “hate violence” from Muirlands Middle School principal Jeff Luna. Now, thanks to a lawsuit filed on J.A.’s behalf by Dhillon’s legal team, the district has agreed to expunge the suspension and bar school staff from even mentioning it in the future.
Karin Sweigart, an attorney with the Center for American Liberty, emphasized the consequences of the school’s actions: “False allegations of blackface on J.A.’s permanent school records could have haunted him for decades, affecting both his education and future career opportunities. It’s a relief that the school district has finally corrected this injustice.”
Sweigart criticized school officials for acting without common sense or basic fairness. “As soon as J.A.’s principal saw the photograph of J.A.’s eyeblack that night he should have known the allegation of blackface was baseless. But he punished J.A. anyway,” she said. “This would have been over before it began if common sense had prevailed. Instead, there was a race to declare an innocent activity as a racist act.”
The complaint laid out what happened that night in detail: J.A., who hadn’t brought eye black with him, was painted by a Hispanic friend during the game. He even asked a Black security guard how it looked and received a compliment in return. At no point did he mock or mimic anyone, let alone display any intent to offend.
Nevertheless, two days later, Luna hauled J.A. into his office and told him a complaint had been made against someone who looked like him. Despite J.A. explaining—and even drawing—a picture to clarify he was wearing eye black, and despite his parents later bringing photographic evidence, Luna pushed forward with the suspension anyway.
“Principal Luna made clear to J.A.’s parents that he had no interest in either providing J.A.’s parents with any evidence that supported his decision or hearing any evidence from J.A.’s parents that might challenge his predetermined outcome,” the lawsuit stated.
The punishment was steep: a two-day suspension and a ban from all school sports events for the remainder of the year, all under a charge of “hate violence”—an accusation that was never supported by any facts or evidence.
The lawsuit argued that the school’s actions violated J.A.’s First Amendment rights, noting that his use of eye black was protected expression at an off-campus event that caused no disruption or harm.
Harmeet Dhillon, recently approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee for nomination by President Trump as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, continues to lead a legal effort focused on restoring fairness in education. Sweigart, her colleague, highlighted the growing pattern of students being falsely accused based on hasty assumptions.
“I never thought that I would have a niche legal practice representing students falsely accused of blackface, but it is disturbingly common in our schools,” she said. “Administrators who care more about their image than dealing fairly with students wrongly accused shouldn’t be in the profession. But if nothing else, I hope these victories show school administrators that, if they bully innocent children, they will be held accountable.”
This latest win follows a similar case last year where two students expelled from a Catholic school for wearing acne masks—falsely labeled as blackface—won a $1 million verdict.
As for Luna, he declined to comment. But the record now shows that his actions were not only unjustified—they were dangerous and potentially life-altering for a young student whose only offense was cheering on his school team.
