A Wisconsin high school has dumped its football team name, logos, and mascot over accusations of “racism” against Native Americans.
La Crosse Central High School announced this week that it has dumped its decades-old team name and will now be known as the “River Hawks,” after its former name was deemed “derogatory” to Native Americans, TMZ Sports reported.
This month’s name change is the second time that La Crosse Central made changes to the team’s name and mascot. It’s previous incarnation was an Indian chief logo and mascot, but in 1994, the school dumped the Indian logo and replaced it with a knight on horseback. Still, at that time, the school kept its “Red Raider” name.
According to school principal Troy McDonald, the school wanted a new name to “feel pride in.”
“The previous logo and nickname is one that all the previous alumni, I believe, should feel pride in, but I’m hoping they continue to support our move forward as we try and make Central a safe place for all students,” McDonald said.
“As we move forward, I really wanted this to be something that our students and staff would feel a great deal of pride and support for,” McDonald added.
La Crosse Central brought the whole school into the process by holding open suggestions and entertained student logo designs, according to the La Crosse Tribune.
Other names that were in the running included the Titans, Pride (as in lions), Bandits, Chargers, Cardinals, Golden Bears and Lumberjacks.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.
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