Brian Thompson, Virginia Student, Suspended For 'Banana Man' Stunt At Football Game

A 14-year-old from Stafford, Va. is being suspended from school for 10 days after being handcuffed and placed in a cop car for what he says was a "harmless prank."

Brian Thompson, a student at Colonial Forge High School, ran down the sidelines at a school football game last week wearing a banana costume -- an act that school officials didn't take kindly to.

A student told Fox DC that Thompson was just trying to make halftime more fun, but in a letter to the student's mother Tavia Thompson, school officials wrote that the act was evidence of:

"disobedience of an administrator, disrespectful behavior toward an administrator, disruption of an activity, refusal to follow directions of an administrator, any violation of the student handbook, including a continued disregard of the Student Code of Conduct and any other conduct considered by the principal to be disruptive and presenting an immediate danger to the welfare, health, and safety of any person.."

The school district says Thompson can appeal the decision.

Thompson was not arrested, but his mother told Fox DC that she thinks the student is being over-punished for impulsiveness from his autism.

Thompson's peers are standing behind him on the Web and in school. Some students wore "Free Banana Man" T-shirts to class, but had them confiscated by school officials, according to Fox DC.

"Tomorrow I plan on going to school with a sign that says, 'Free Banana Man' and another sign that says 'Banana Man needs his education too,'" Thompson says.

In May, two Ohio seventh-graders were suspended for alleged flatulence on a school bus.

Most recently, states including Colorado, Florida, North Carolina and Texas have started to examine what many consider "regimented" school discipline policies -- ones that currently could lead students to face ticketing or charges for minor misbehaviors like doodling on a desk.

Watch the news report above and footage from the game below. Do you think the punishment fits the crime?

Comments

[dbrett480]

03:05 PM on 10/12/2011

That's a 14 year old? He looks like he might have a future in the NBA.

[wlouche]

12:39 AM on 09/25/2011

The prank was harmless, probably funny, he disobyed school authority why he is being punished.

[Mrsbean54]

08:53 AM on 09/23/2011

I was on the marching band in high school and even I know that noone really watches the halftime show! The occasional banana man would have been a welcome distraction from the 16 year olds making out in the bleachers....In a generation where we have to worry about kids bringing drugs and guns to football games, we should be happy to see such an innocent prank. School boards get so wrapped up in black and white discipline policies that it completely takes common sense out of the equation...it's worse than the DMV.
Good for you, banana man. Don't do drugs.

[AdamONeill]

02:45 AM on 09/23/2011

Stupid decision on the part of the school, and I agree with the student's mother.... right up until she blames his behavior on his autism. He did a stupid prank. Autism has nothing to do with it.

[Jennifer Gilley]

02:10 PM on 09/23/2011

You obviously know nothing about autism... Folks with autism on any spectrum have a problem with executive functioning. just so you understand what that means here is an explanation...
The term executive function describes a set of cognitive abilities that control and regulate other abilities and behaviors. Executive functions are necessary for goal-directed behavior. They include the ability to initiate and stop actions, to monitor and change behavior as needed, and to plan future behavior when faced with novel tasks and situations. Executive functions allow us to anticipate outcomes and adapt to changing situations. The ability to form concepts and think abstractly are often considered components of executive function.

[lcr999]

12:47 PM on 09/22/2011

Further evidence that the real problem with schools is dunderheaded administrators, not the teachers.

[Puppybreath Jaime]

09:43 PM on 09/21/2011

he was dressed as a banana , he should thrown the banana peel on the ground and give the cops the slip.....sigh

[Jeffers Dodge]

08:58 PM on 09/21/2011

Yes. He was arrested. If he had tried to "make a break" for it he would have been charged with "resisting arrest". So yes. He was arrested

[WHOGIVESADAMN pluh]

07:41 PM on 09/21/2011

Talk about a school going overboard. It isn't like he streaked bare butt naked across the field flashing obscene gestures. Some people need to get over their ego. It was just a dumb prank!

[godmadeonlyoneme]

07:20 PM on 09/21/2011

People, I commented last night with the " What If's".. It was a Wrong choice of words...But I also replied too "Chatt's" response and said, the 10 day suspension was out of line..Now, once they DID find out it was just a prank, I Honestly believe they should have asked him too be the Team Masscot..My "What If's" comment as I said, was a Very poor choice of words..Too ANYONE who was offended by that..I Do Apologize...As an adult, I guess, I Do sometimes forget, Kids Must Be Kids..The negatives comments actually reminded me of that..For That, I Thank You

[the lion]

05:50 PM on 09/21/2011

wow school athoraty has gone to far

[MissMichelleP]

05:06 PM on 09/21/2011

To me, this sounds like a kid just having some fun. He ran around in banana costume. I would laugh if I saw that at a football game. I wonder if there is something more to this story. If the boy is autistic, he may not have even thought about the possibility of getting in trouble. I think the school is being overly sensitive in this case. Let the kid have some fun. Let all of the kids in the crowd have some fun. Let them enjoy going to school athletic events. Let them have some school spirit. Or, you could just suspend them all, force them to be somewhere else on a Friday night and find something else to do on a Friday night. Who needs education anyway?

[k9doglover]

03:07 PM on 09/21/2011

I will call the HS to let my opinion be known:
Colonial Forge High School
550 Courthouse Road
Stafford, VA 22554-6823
[phone]

[Porbin]

03:01 PM on 09/21/2011

public schools are just small models of the current goverment.

[sahmgr]

02:04 PM on 09/21/2011

The kid should follow rules or we'll all be commie pinko subversives.

[FreedomBeforeSecurity]

01:13 PM on 09/21/2011

Wow, seriously, can't people have fun anymore unless it involves giving money some company? What next, outlaw kickball, and taking a dip in a pond?

[brinniewales]

12:26 AM on 09/24/2011

Actually, some schools have banned dodgeball. What a shame. A good game of quick reflexes and motor skills.