Teacher 'humiliates' student
for wearing Broncos jersey

Joshua Vannoy

An ethnic studies high-school teacher and die-hard Steelers fan in Pittsburgh has "humiliated" one of his students who wore a Denver Broncos jersey to class, making the boy sit on the floor and having his classmates pelt him with paper.

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According to a report in the Denver Post, Joshua Vannoy, 17, showed up for his midterm test sporting a John Elway No. 7 Broncos jersey. Not only did his teacher at Beaver Falls High School, John Kelly, make him take the test while sitting on the floor, he had the teen sit in a circle of desks and told others in the class – under threat of losing points on the exam – to throw paper wads at him.

"I was humiliated and shaking. I couldn't finish my test," Vannoy told the paper.

Kelly defended his actions, saying he had warned students not to wear a team jersey other than the Steelers to class. The teacher claims he was "just messing around" with the boy.

According to the Post, Vannoy claimed Kelly grabbed him by the neck of his jersey when he tried to sit in his chair and told him he would give him a zero on the exam if he didn't sit on the floor. Kelly told the 12 other students that part of their midterm was that they had to throw paper at "the stinking Denver fan" – or lose points.

"Some threw the paper at me, some threw it at the ground," Vannoy is quoted as saying.

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Kelly claimed he didn't threaten Vannoy's grade or grab his shirt, adding, "When you are joking and everyone's laughing, it's obvious. … It was silly fun. I can't believe he was upset."

The teacher claims he took similar action when a ninth-grade student recently showed up in class wearing a Peyton Manning Indianapolis Colts shirt.

Principal Thomas Karczewski was scheduled to talk to Kelly about the incident today, the Post reported.

Vannoy's mother, Virginia, wants her son to be allowed to retake the midterm exam.

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