Really?!

Smith-Cotton High School banned the band's tshirts because they were titled Brass Evolutions 2009. The reference to evolution didn't pass the crazy zealot parent test. Some complaints and the school banned the shirts.

The band debuted the T-shirts when it marched in the Missouri State Fair parade. Summers said he was surprised when he received a direct complaint after the parade.

While the shirts don’t directly violate the district’s dress code, Assistant Superintendent Brad Pollitt said complaints by parents made him take action.


“I made the decision to have the band members turn the shirts in after several concerned parents brought the shirts to my attention,” Pollitt said.


Pollitt said the district is required by law to remain neutral where religion is concerned.


“If the shirts had said ‘Brass Resurrections’ and had a picture of Jesus on the cross, we would have done the same thing,” he said.