Atlanta, Georgia rapper
Young Jeezy’s frowning snowman logo on a t-shirt has caused a stir in the
United States and now the shirt has been banned from the Polk County, Florida
Public School system.
Superintendent Gail McKinzie alerted principals in the school
system last week about the t-shirt, which features a frowning snowman, usually
followed by various references to cocaine.
McKinzie and Assistant Superintendent Bruce Tonjes became aware
of the shirts after they started popping up on various campuses.
“We understood that ‘snow’ is a reference
to cocaine,” Assistant Superintendent Bruce Tonjes told AllHipHop.com.
“If that’s what people understand the meaning of this to be, that
doesn’t mean the person wearing it understands. If that’s the message
it sends, we take the necessary measures to remove it from our campuses.”
Clothing that promotes drugs, alcohol or sex is banned under
Polk County School Board policy.
On first offense, students will be told to turn the shirt inside-out
or change shirts.
The second time, parents are called.
Earlier this month, the Snowman t-shirt drew criticism from
anti-drug campaigners causing its production to be cancelled by fashion company
Miskeen Originals.
According to reports, the shirt has been heavily bootlegged and
sold on the black market as well.
Anti-drug campaigners and education officials are alarmed, saying
the Snowman t-shirt symbolizes the white substance colloquially called snow:
cocaine.
In related news,
Jeezy recently announced that he’s inked a distribution deal with Jay-Z’s
Rocawear clothing for his own United Streets and D Boy Apparel lines.