The family of a 16-year-old track star is threatening to take legal action after the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) disqualified their daughter and stripped her of her gold medal after she celebrated her win in the state final by spraying her feet with a fire extinguisher – an homage to Olympic champion Maurice Green.
Clara Adams, a North Salinas High School sophomore, said that CIF officials told her that she was disqualified for “unsportsmanlike” behavior after the 400-meter state final and was prevented from standing on the podium to claim her number one spot or competing in the final race.
ABC News reached out to CIF representatives but requests for comment were not returned.
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Adante Pointer, an attorney representing Clara Adams, told ABC News that the family is “certainly” planning on taking legal action if the CIF doesn’t reverse its decision.
“That was the championship, she would have been the fastest sprinter in the state of California – she is, she won, but she doesn’t have the title nor the medal,” Pointer said. “She’ll never have that moment.”
According to the CIF code of conduct on sportsmanship, student athletes are in part, not permitted to engage in or allow “taunting, boastful celebrations, or other actions that demean individuals or the sport.”
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors wrote a letter in support of Adams that the county is set to vote on Tuesday afternoon, urging CIF officials to reinstate her immediately.
“Clara’s celebration did not take place on the track itself, not was it directed at any of the competitors, the letter says, calling the punishment “disproportionate.”
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Adams spoke out about the incident alongside members of the NAACP and her father, David, who is also her coach, during a press conference on Friday, saying that she was “crushed” by the CIF’s decision.
“I had to watch the girls get on the podium without me,” she said. “I had to watch somebody else get on the number one spot that I was supposed to stand on. And that wasn’t cool at all. That was wrong.”
Adams said that her father handed her the fire extinguisher after her win and instructed her to get off the field before spraying her feet in a nod to Greene, an iconic Olympian sprinter, who famously celebrated his 2004 Olympics win in the 100 meter race by taking off his shoes and having a teammate spray them with a fire extinguisher to put out the figurative fire on his feet.
Pointer said that Adams was “surprised” that she was punished because she was “paying homage to one of her icons.”
Greene, who spoke with ABC affiliate in Salinas, KSBW-TV, said he was happy to see Adams pay homage to him and suggested that she should be reinstated.
“When I heard, cause it happened, and then people just started calling me ‘This girl who just ran the 400 did your celebration’ I was like huh? What?” Greene said. “If it was away from everyone and not interfering with anyone, I would say reinstate her.”
