President Donald Trump ordered Education Secretary Linda McMahon to intervene in a New York legal dispute over a school using a Native American mascot.
The New York Board of Regents ordered all New York public schools to remove Native American names and imagery. The Massapequa school district, with a “Chiefs” mascot and logo, has resisted the policy fiercely, arguing it would end the school’s identity and cost $1 million in rebranding. The school appealed to the Trump administration for help, a call the president answered on Tuesday.
“I agree with the people in Massapequa, Long Island, who are fighting furiously to keep the Massapequa Chiefs logo on their Teams and School. Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population,” Trump said in a Monday post on Truth Social.
“The School Board, and virtually everyone in the area, are demanding the name be kept. It has become the School’s identity and, what could be wrong with using the name, ‘Chief’? I don’t see the Kansas City Chiefs changing their name anytime soon! By copy of this TRUTH, I am asking my highly capable Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to fight for the people of Massapequa on this very important issue. LONG LIVE THE MASSAPEQUA CHIEFS!” he added.
In March, a New York judge ruled against Massapequa, setting up a larger legal battle with the Trump administration.
Massapequa School Board President Kerry Wachter told the New York Post that the forced name change would strip students of their identity.
“Changing the name doesn’t have any good effect on our kids. This is their identity, this is who they are — they are Chiefs,” she said. “Perhaps the secretary of education or President Trump might feel that they might have some authority here to step in.”
Massapequa, which got its name from the local Native American tribe, was joined by the fellow Long Island towns of Wantagh Warriors, the Wyandanch Warriors, and the Connetquot Thunderbirds in their lawsuit to keep their names.
Matt Susco, the president of the Wantagh Preservation Society, had previously expressed hope that Trump, a native New Yorker, would understand their plight and intervene.
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“He’s well-aware of Long Island,” Susco said, referring to Trump. “He’d come in and help us.”
The battle with the New York schools isn’t the only legal trouble over a name and mascot on Long Island. Earlier this month, a New York teacher filed a lawsuit against a Long Island school district, claiming that its new mascot, the Spartan, is “a symbol of white supremacy.”
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
