Viral incident at high school graduation wasn’t about race, says father

The white father who did not allow his daughter to shake hands with a black school principal at her high school graduation in Wisconsin reportedly said it was not because of her race.

Matthew Eddy reportedly told police that his behavior at Baraboo High School’s graduation ceremony last week – which was captured on video and has since spread online – was due to a personal history with school principal Rainey Briggs, according to a police report obtained by TMZ on Friday.

On May 31, Eddy entered the stage and violently pushed Briggs out of the way so that his daughter could not shake his hand.

Eddy explained that the move was because he “had issues with Rainey in the past and didn’t like him” and he didn’t want Briggs to have the satisfaction of shaking his daughter’s hand.

The police report states that when asked, the father did not provide further details, but added that he regretted his actions as they had affected his daughter.

Briggs, meanwhile, claims his relationship with Eddy was “accidental” and has now obtained a restraining order against him.

In his motion for the restraining order, Briggs described that during the incident, Eddy “quickly walked up to the stage, put both hands on me to push me out of the way and said, ‘You will not touch my damn daughter.'”

He then “created distance” between himself and Eddy and told him to take his hands off him, the petition continues.

A judge issued the temporary restraining order on Monday and a hearing in the matter is scheduled for June 14, NBC News reported.

Eddy also received a summons for disturbing the peace after being removed from school grounds following the incident.

Baraboo High School made headlines in 2018 when a photo surfaced at a prom showing a group of students giving the Nazi salute.