A trophy nicknamed "Brass Balls" was ruled offensive by Harrison Fire Commissioners Thursday after a firefighter made a complaint.
Firefighter Brent Fox was the intended recipient of the male anatomy-shaped trophy given by Harrison Township Fire Commisioner Mike Koestler at a dinner in March.
The Gloucester County Times reports that Fox, who was not at the dinner, was awarded his "Brass Balls" for supposedly "actively campaigning against someone that could be his boss," according to testimony.
"It's my right as a resident and a citizen to campaign for whoever I choose," Fox said at Thursday's hearing, according to The Gloucester County Times.
In February, Fox campaigned for his father-in-law rather than Koestler for two empty seats on the Harrison Township Board of Fire Commisioners, reports the paper.
When Fox heard of his "award," he brought a harassment complaint against Koestler.
The trophy, a pair of "truck nuts," in a box, has been given out before, without complaint.
"If I felt in any way Brent would have been offended, I would not have done it," Koestler said in court, according to The Gloucester County Times.
On Thursday, the board of commissioners ruled that the award, which its defenders say was given in fun, is inappropriate and offensive.
Koestler is required to complete a workplace harassment course among other minor punishments.
The trophy has been destroyed, says the paper.
