Breast cancer awareness bracelet lands teen in hot water

(NBC) - A breast cancer awareness bracelet has landed a student at New York's South Glens Falls High School in hot water.

"It wasn't really a distraction," Nicholas Morgan insisted.

Nick's mom says he's not a troublemaker, but this week trouble found him, thanks to the bracelet on his right wrist.

It says "I love boobies."

The sale of the rubber bands benefits a not-for-profit that raises breast cancer awareness among teens. Nick's mom, Barbara Gifford, bought it at a store in the mall after he asked for it for his birthday.

"My first thought was, 'I love boobies, I heart boobies?' But when Nicholas explained to me what the cause was and it wasn't sexual in nature by any means, it was simply an education and awareness thing and he wanted to support breast cancer," Gifford said.

Nick wore it to school and said teachers didn't seem to notice, until last Friday when his science teacher saw it on his wrist and told him to take it off.

"I told her that I shouldn't have to because I have an aunt with breast cancer and I have a great aunt who died from breast cancer," Nick said.

Nick says he offered to turn it inside out, but says the teacher said that wasn't good enough and sent him to in-school detention.

Nick says the teacher told him that she found the bracelet offensive because she's lost a relative to breast cancer.

"I'm sorry for her loss, but my child has a right to support breast cancer in any way he sees fit," Gifford said.

Superintendent Dr. James McCarthy says he doesn't want the bracelet to be a distraction and thought a compromise could be worked out.

"I hope it can be resolved where we're not encroaching on his rights and we're not impacting teaching or learning," McCarthy said.

Thursday afternoon it was resolved, says the boy's mom, when the school decided to put Nick into a different science class with a different teacher.

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