Buzz Bissinger’s Friday Night Lights has returned to school library shelves in Mason City, Iowa, weeks after it was removed alongside 18 other titles, the Houston Chronicle reports.
The nonfiction book was restored after a review by administrators. It had been pulled by Mason City’s school board earlier this month after the district used artificial intelligence to detect books that depicted sexual activities—the result of a recent Iowa law that mandates such books not be made available to students in public schools.
Bissinger’s nonfiction book, published in 1990, follows one season of the football team at Permian High School in Odessa, Texas. The book formed the basis of a 2004 movie directed by Peter Berg and a beloved television series that ran from 2006 to 2011.
Following the book’s removal in Mason City, Bissinger blasted the school district, denying that the book depicted any sexual activities and criticizing the district for using AI to assist in banning books.
“It’s also symbolic of how we don’t read anymore,” he said. “Let’s go to AI. Pathetic. Yeah, absolutely pathetic, and infuriating and dangerous. Because who knows what other school districts will do in Iowa or around the country. Whoever determined this is a complete idiot. And frankly, whoever determined this is a danger.”
The Chronicle reports that two other books that the district banned would be restored, but did not indicate which ones they were. The newspaper also reported that Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale would remain off the shelves.
Bissinger told the Chronicle that he was “glad” his book would be restored. "It's a great book for high school students and they should have access to it,” he said.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
