Source: Tom Carter / Getty

Andrew Johnson, the New Jersey high school wrestler who had his dreadlocks cut before a match, could have salvaged the mishap by referee Alan Maloney who demanded the hair’s removal. However, the 16-year-old athlete didn’t get that chance as his hair was tossed away in the garbage.

TMZ reports:

The brutal decision wrestler Andrew Johnson was forced to make didn’t have to end the way it did, because dreadlocks can be reattached … but not in his case, because we’ve learned all the hair that was cut off was thrown in a dumpster.

Fact is … dreadlocks can be reattached in a number of ways. It’s a process that typically takes a few months to complete, but it’s doable. Dreads can be fused together, even after some are cut off.

We’re told almost immediately after the referee for Andrew’s wrestling match gave him the impossible ultimatum, the dreads were swept up — no questions asked — and thrown in the trash.

Sources connected to Johnson’s family tell TMZ, Andrew has done nothing with his hair since it was butchered at the meet. He’s gotten a bunch of offers from various hair care professionals, but so far he’s made no decisions.

Buena Regional School District Superintendent David Cappuccio has since said his district will no longer allow Maloney to work wrestling matches. Johnson’s family is considering legal action at the moment as well.

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Photo: Getty