He had his family in his corner, his true-blue teammates, and the man who was recently voted one of the 'Greatest Canadians', but 13-year-old Adam Zussino still had to convince his principal that he was fit to attend class with blue hair.
On Monday, he did just that.
Zussino, a grade 7 student, made headlines when he was asked to leave St. Catherine of Siena School because of his unique hair colouring, which was dyed blue as part of a hockey team ritual. The blue hair broke the school's dress code.
"No matter what walk of life you're in, there's a code of conduct for that school, business, sports team, whatever. You need to respect that code of conduct," argued Katrina Owen, a member of the Parents Council that sets the strict codes.
Adam's mom had a hard time swallowing the argument that coloured hair signified her son as a gang member.
"We understand that they don't want gangs and stuff in the school, but to associate hockey players with gangs just when they're dying their hair for playoffs is ridiculous," said Brenda Zussino.
Don Cherry soon entered the fray, giving the hockey-loving teen his full support and claiming the school took political correctness a step too far.
But principal Mario Melchiorre refused to budge, saying he couldn't come back until his hair returned to its normal colour.
On Monday, Adam met with Melchiorre and a deal was struck that would allow him to return to school, and apparently keep his sky-blue locks.
The details of the arrangement weren't revealed, but
CityNews crews spotted Adam at school sporting a toque.