The OK state is saying "no way" to the mitten.

A five-year-old Oklahoma City boy was told by his principal at Wilson Elementary School to turn his University of Michigan t-shirt inside out.

The shirt violated Oklahoma City Public School dress code, which prohibits students from wearing apparel from any college school other than those located in Oklahoma.

Lest any Wolverines fans take it personally, the rule actually goes further and bans professional sports team apparel as well – even clothing from the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder.

School officials, with the help of an Anti-Gang Task Force, created the rule in 2005 in order to combat gang problems.

But Shannon Barton, an avid Michigan Wolverines fan, says her son Cooper wasn't harming anyone, nor disrupting class with his "The Big House" t-shirt. And he's certainly no gang member.

"They should really worry about academics," she told News 9. "It wasn't offensive. He's five."

After hearing the complaint, Superintendent Karl Springer agreed to review the rule, which some see as overreaching.

"This has presented an opportunity to review the current OKCPS District Dress Code Policy that has been in place since 2005," he said in a statement. "It states that clothing bearing names or emblems of all professional and collegiate athletic teams (with the exception of Oklahoma colleges and universities) are prohibited. In cooperation with the Oklahoma City Police Department Gang Task Force, the policy was approved in 2005 after concerns that nationwide gangs used popular sports clothing to represent individual gangs. As when any policy is questioned; OKCPS administration will review the policy to determine if changes need to be made."

Do you think this rule goes too far? And have you ever been a victim of "sports discrimination"?

Email Philip Zaroo at pzaroo@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/philipzaroo.

