The North Carolina High School Athletic Association has reversed its ban on the Mallard Creek team following runner Nyan Brown’s viral gesture, reinstating the school as co-8A state champion and bringing the dispute to a close.
The decision was taken this week after an emergency meeting called in response to a binding verdict from an independent appeals panel. In a unanimous judgement, the board found the sanctioned athlete, Brown, had engaged in no unsportsmanlike conduct whatsoever.
The dispute began in mid-May at the 8A State Track and Field Championships. With the overall title at stake, the school needed points from the final event, the relay. Brown, running the anchor leg, finished first and raised his left hand, holding up five fingers. Coaches said the gesture was a celebration of the school’s fifth consecutive championship, including indoor and outdoor titles.
A track official interpreted the gesture as taunting and disqualified the team under the federation’s unsportsmanlike conduct rule. The decision removed the ten points awarded for the win and handed the overall state title to C.E. Jordan. Footage of the incident spread online and drew criticism from fans, coaches, and professional athletes, who questioned the severity of the punishment.
With the controversy growing, the case was escalated to the Independent Intercollegiate Track and Field Appeals Board, a three-member body administered by the State Department of Public Instruction. After a two-hour hearing in which both sides gave testimony and video evidence was reviewed, the tribunal found that the school had provided ‘clear and convincing’ evidence that the athlete had not breached National Federation of State High School Associations regulations.
To resolve the matter without altering previously awarded results, school authorities agreed to a compromise. Mallard Creek and C.E. Jordan will share the overall state championship for the season. The points from the 4×400 metres relay were also recalculated, resulting in co-winners for the event: Mallard Creek and Hough High School.
In a public statement, NCHSAA officials said the dispute had been resolved through institutional channels and noted that the process ensured fairness and recognised the sporting efforts of the students involved.
The complication, as outlet NC RunnerS notes, is that NFHS Rule 4-6 is classified under unsportsmanlike conduct and covers a range of actions including taunting an opponent, criticising officials, using offensive language directed at someone, physical contact, or behaviour deemed flagrantly provocative or defiant. Earlier in the day, according to the report, Brown had already drawn scrutiny.
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