LENOIR, N.C. — The Caldwell County Schools district is apologizing to Joshua Wright who was dressed as Santa Claus and asked to leave a high school football game.
Wright went through the metal detector and had the gifts checked before handing them out to the kids.
However, someone told him he had to leave.
Wright has been Santa for four years at the MLK Center in Lenoir.
“I just felt like I should share Christmas joy,” he told Channel 9. “It’s the holiday season. Who doesn’t want to see kids smile?”
There were presents left over from the toy drive so Wright suggested they pass out the rest at the Hibriten-West Caldwell basketball game in Lenoir.
After the security screening, someone at the school questioned who he was and what was in his bag before telling him to leave.
“I tried to keep my composure because I didn’t want a Santa Claus to go from giving toys to a Santa Claus facedown with handcuffs on,” Wright said.
The school district sent Channel 9 a statement, which read in part: “Individuals who would like to distribute items at sporting events must get prior approval, and Mr. Wright did not. Unfortunately, the interaction escalated and intensified, and Mr. Wright was asked to depart the event.”
The district also contacted Wright and apologized for the “way events transpired.”
“It’s not about me,” Wright said. “It’s more about the kids that I had to turn away. I just want the kids to have an apology more than I am.”
The district also thanked Wright for his work at the local community center and welcomes him back to future sporting events here in the county.
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