The New York Board of Regents unanimously voted in favor of a move that will ban mascot names that are potentially insensitive to Native American cultures, with exception only for those recognized by one of The Empire State's tribal nations.
The New York Times reported Monday that, in the cross hairs of the decision, are mascots like "Warriors," popularly used among K-12 schools, colleges and even professional sports franchises.
The decision follows a sweeping effort to erase racially insensitive imagery and labels from athletics and coincides outrage that continues to haunt teams with Native American mascots across all sports and divisions, including the Kansas City Chiefs, the Florida State Seminoles, the Atlanta Braves and the since-rebranded Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins.
INDIANA SCHOOL DISTRICT REVIEWING INDIAN MASCOT AFTER TIKTOK GOES VIRAL
The decision will affect all K-12 public schools in the state, and will require schools who currently have indigenous mascots to change them by the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
Refusal to comply with the rule could impact schools' eligibility for state aid, according to ABC 7 in New York City.
At the crux of the controversy are schools like Massapequa, New York's Massapequa High School, which already faced a Change.org petition to rename its "Chiefs" mascot under claims that students in the "majority white district" dressed in "red face" by appropriating Native American clothing at sporting events.
The New York Times reported Monday that Mohonasen High School in Schenectady, New York, faced similar calls to retire its "Warriors" mascot along with the synonymous imagery of arrowheads, feathers and American Indians dressed in war bonnets.
KANSAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION RECOMMENDS ELIMINATING NATIVE AMERICAN MASCOTS FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS
More than 20 states have already weighed in on the issue, taking action to restrict use of potentially offensive mascot names, per the report.
Last November, the NY Department of Education issued a warning to schools to drop their Native American mascots and other relevant imagery before the end of the school year or face a loss of state aid.
"Arguments that community members support the use of such imagery or that it is ‘respectful' to Native Americans are no longer tenable," the department said in a memo at the time.
"Boards of education that continue to utilize Native American mascots must reflect upon the message their choices convey to students, parents, and their communities," the memo later continued.
The new policy has raised cost concerns for schools that will be forced to rebrand or face the consequences.
Native American labels and images are not the only mascots that have been stripped from some schools.
Others have included George Washington University's erasure of its "colonials" moniker last year after school officials claimed it failed to match the institutions "values" and outrage over mascots with Confederate ties, including The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which dropped the "Hey Reb!" mascot over its alleged ties to racism.
