A Texas father stripped down to his underwear during a school-board meeting to make a point about wearing masks

• A parent in Texas stripped down to his underwear during a school-board meeting on masks.
• He said he took off his clothes to make a point that he didn't like being told what to do or wear.
• But he added that mask rules are "simple protocol" that should be followed "for a very good reason."

A parent in Texas stripped down to his underwear during a school-board meeting on Monday to advocate mask-wearing.

James Akers, the father of a high schooler in the Dripping Springs Independent School District, argued for mask protocols for schools in the community despite the inconvenience.

"I do not like government or any other entity - just ask my wife - telling me what to do," Akers said. While he removed his shirt and jacket, he said: "At work, they make me wear this jacket. I hate it. They make me wear this shirt and tie. I hate it."

Akers continued to remove his clothes while saying that people abide by rules like stopping at red lights and not parking in handicapped parking spots for the good of the community.

"It's simple protocol, people," Akers said while undoing his trousers and dropping them to whistles and applause. "We follow certain rules for a very good reason."

Akers put his clothes back on when asked to do so.

"Mr. Akers, I understand - I believe you're a swimmer. But if you wouldn't mind putting your pants back on for a comment, that would be appreciated," Barbara Stroud, the school board's president, said.

The school district's health protocols published on August 6 said masks were optional in schools. On August 16, the board said it would recommend but not mandate that people wear masks.

Akers told the NBC affiliate KXAN that he "stripped in front of the whole board to prove a point about social norms and what we do every day with each other."

"There's too many voices out there that I think are digging in for political reasons and absolutely just not thinking about the common-sense decisions we make every day to comply with everything from driving down the road and being safe and courteous to other drivers to not parking in handicapped spots - all these rules that we're given every day that we follow because they make sense," Akers said.

Hays County, where the Dripping Springs school system is, has reported more than 27,000 COVID-19 infections and 300 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to The New York Times.

In May, Gov. Greg Abbott barred schools from issuing mask mandates. However, school districts have defied his order and asked teachers and students to mask up on campuses.

Texas' education agency said last week that it would temporarily stop enforcing the ban on mask mandates in public schools amid legal challenges.

The 14-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Texas is up 20%, and the state clocked a daily average of 17,022 new infections on Wednesday, according to The Times' case tracker.