A high school student who suffers from autism and Down Syndrome was given a varsity letter by his mother to celebrate that he had begun playing special needs basketball at his high school , and then shockingly told he had no right to wear that letter . Michael Kelley , who attends East High School in Wichita , Kansas , wore the letter , which his mother purchased for him , on a jacket , until he was told to remove it and never wear it again at school . Now though , many are coming out to show their support for Michael - including the Chicago Bulls . Scroll down for video . The mother of Michael Kelley ( above ) purchased him a varsity letter to celebrate his participation in a special needs basketball program . East High School ( above ) in Wichita , Kansas told the boy , who has autism and Down Syndrome , he could not wear a varsity letter . Chicago Bulls assistant coach and former player Adrian Griffin ( above ) , has donated items to raise money for uniforms for Michael 's team . 'Teachers told the parents they would prefer he not wear the letter on his jacket , ' East High Principal Ken Thiessen told KSN . When asked if that policy might change however , given the situation , he said ; 'We have considered it , and our decision was no . We decided that is not appropriate in our situation because it is not a varsity level competition . ' Wanting more answers , Mrs. Kelley turned to the district , who said there was no official rule about who could and cold not wear a varsity letter . As for how this all happened , Mrs. Kelley said ; 'Another parent , from what I am told , was upset that my son was wearing his letter jacket . ' Michael however is getting a lot of support in the aftermath on this decision however , and a Change.org petition to change this rule already has over 30,000 signatures . In addition , many are voicing their support for Michael using the hashtag # GiveThemLetters on Twitter . Also , Adrian Griffin , the assistant coach of the Bulls , has donated an autographed jersey , basketball , and a Derek Rose bobble head to the Kelley family which he says they can auction off and use to buy uniforms for the special needs basketball team Michael plays on . 'Supporting Michael , East High and all special needs student-athletes who share the passion and drive for the game I love . We are All Blue Aces ! ' wrote Griffin , who attended East High Sxchool . Mrs. Kelley ( above ) said ; 'Another parent , from what I am told , was upset that my son was wearing his letter jacket . ' 'Teachers told the parents they would prefer he not wear the letter on his jacket , ' said East High Principal Ken Thiessen . What 's more , Mark Calvin , the principal and athletic director at Santana High School in Santana , Kansas has sent one of their varsity letter for Michael to wear . 'Before he got the letter he was one of the biggest cheerleaders in the school it was incredible , after he got the letter jacket it just sky rocketed him to another level , ' said Calvin of Michael . He then said of the situation ; 'We can ’ t be cookie cutter . We have all kinds of kids with all kinds of different needs and we need to be able to make our rules adjust to meet those needs . ' He added ; 'It ’ s a message to Michael that you can be a part of something anywhere you want to . ' As for Mrs. Kelley , she is not just fighting for her adopted son Michael , but all the kids , saying ; 'It ’ s not just my son . It ’ s every student that was out there last night . It ’ s every student that ’ s there on Fridays that plays their hardest and to the best of their capability regardless what that is . '
Change.org in Wichita , Kansas told student Michael Kelley , who has autism and Down Syndrome , he could not wear a varsity letter . This after his mother purchased him a varsity letter to celebrate his participation in a special needs basketball program . 'Teachers told the parents they would prefer he not wear the letter on his jacket , ' said East High Principal Ken Thiessen . Now , a East High School petition has been started and the Chicago Bulls have donated items to raise money for uniforms for Michael 's team . In addition , the hashtag # GiveThemLetters is being used by many on Twitter to show support .