In 1999, Dr. Jeffrey Whitlow, a local doctor, filed a civil rights complaint against the school board, equating the football games with Ku Klux Klan rallies. The school board promptly changed the school's flag, but fans, almost exclusively students, continued displaying, wearing, and bringing the controversial symbol to support the rarely defeated football team. Supporters of the school board defended their position by stating that the flags (most of which were fastened on poles used to make more celebratory noise by banging on bleachers) were a security issue that could cause serious injury. Opponents argue that the ban is obviously one on the symbol itself, a symbol which, in their minds, no longer represents racism, but is merely an emblem of their beloved school. Despite administrators' attempts, the student body still managed to bring the Rebel flag into their stadium and others on their clothes, tied around their waists, or even painted on their bodies. When assistant principals attempted to suspend students for wearing the flag, a $20 million lawsuit was pressed against the school for denying the right of free speech. In response, students created facebook groups with names like, "Don't like the rebel flag? Well, don't fly it and shut the hell up!" where they argue that the flag is not a symbol of racism by claiming that the Civil War was not fought over slavery, but over states' rights. Controversy surrounding the issue received national attention. The former president of a North Carolina National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter agreed with the Sons of Confederate Veterans's opposition of the ban, saying that the flag should no longer be considered a symbol of racism. Black southern heritage activist H. K. Edgerton organized a walk from Johnson City to Maryville to protest the decision, and he subsequently attended every football game of the season dressed in a Confederate uniform and carrying a Confederate flag. In 2008, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the lawsuit over the ban of student display of the Confederate flag, citing a threat of "disturbances such as those experienced in the past" as justification of the ban. Notable alumni Lamar Alexander, former Governor of Tennessee, former Secretary of Education, U.S. Senator Glenn Reynolds, Law Professor and author of the political blog Instapundit Roy Kramer, former SEC commissioner (1990–2002) Knox Ramsey, NFL player Danny Spradlin, American football player Carl