Case Closed for Miss NC

A court ruling closed the book on a stranger-than-fiction saga of battling beauty queens, allegations of topless photos and a federal judge intent on protecting "a significant part of Americana."

U.S. District Judge James Fox on Thursday balked at Rebekah Revels' bid to force the Miss America Organization to let both she and Misty Clymer compete as Miss North Carolina.

Immediately after the judge's decision, acting pageant CEO George Bauer declared Revels out, clearing the runway for Clymer to compete as North Carolina's entry. Preliminary competition begins Tuesday.

"This (ruling) is bittersweet for me," Clymer said Friday during joint appearances with Revels on morning news shows. "I feel bad that Rebekah can't complete her lifelong dream of competing in the pageant, but I think we'll both be fine."

Revels agreed, saying there was no animosity between the two.

"We're both educated woman and very mature," Revels said. "We're both Southern ladies and we can deal with this."

Although Clymer is the Miss North Carolina recognized by Miss America, a state judge's order last week means Revels also has that title, at least until her lawsuit against the state pageant is heard. She and Clymer said they had not discussed how they would divide their duties usually performed by the pageant winner.

Fox said Miss America _ the icon _ helped guide his decision.

"The Miss America pageant over the years, by virtue largely of its contestants, has become a significant part of Americana," said Fox, of Wilmington, N.C., who heard nearly a week of legal arguments and testimony. "In a very real sense, Miss America represents America.

"There is a public interest in seeing that that image is not tarnished because if it is tarnished there will be fewer contestants, there will be fewer scholarships, there will be fewer ideals to uphold. I don't think that's silly. We are a country that admires bravery, courage and integrity. We instill it in our youth."

The double entry would have presented an awkward prospect at the Sept. 21 pageant, and would have been unprecedented for the 81-year-old contest.

Revels, a 24-year-old English teacher, won the North Carolina pageant June 22, but later resigned after ex-boyfriend Tosh Welch told Miss America Organization officials in an anonymous e-mail that he had topless photos of her taken in 1998.

No photos ever surfaced.

Revels contended she was given a quit-or-be-fired ultimatum by pageant officials. Pageant officials contended that once she resigned, the title belonged to Clymer, the first runner-up.

"There are no winners in a situation like this," Bauer said later. "What the ruling does is help us continue our efforts to have an equal playing field."

Revels said she would accept the pageant's offer to remain a VIP guest, though Bauer wouldn't say if the pageant would pay to have her remain in Atlantic City.

While Clymer won a spot on the runway, Revels seemed to have captured public sentiment.

"What guy doesn't take a photo every once in a while?" said gambler Nick Russo, 64, of Gloversville, N.Y., who was walking the Boardwalk with his wife. "You're supposed to keep that at home, aren't you?"

"She should have been allowed to compete, because of the way the boyfriend reported it, and his motives," said Billy Allen, 63, of Collingsville, Miss., as he stood at a Miss America souvenir stand on the Boardwalk.

On the boyfriend issue, the judge agreed.

"The individual involved is below despicable," Fox said of Welch.

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Author: 6 ABC-AP