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High Schools from California will have to change the nickname for their team until 1st of January 2016.
BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Government representative Jerry Brown has just signed a bill banning public schools the use of the term “Redskin” to name their sports team or mascots. California brings down Redskin mascot and issued an ultimatum for about four high schools. They have until the first of January, 2017 to find a more suitable name for both teams and mascots.
The National Congress of American Indians applauded the initiative of the Congress and said that this is just a first step of Americans getting their history facts straight. Members of the American Indian Congress catalogued the Washington team’s choice of names as being demeaning and damaging to their ethnical identity. They also hope that by passing this bill, California law will force Washington Redskins to change their name.
This daring move coming from Government officials is said to have repercussion all over the state, as high schools from Madera County, Merced County, Tulare County and Calaveras County will be submitted to align to the bill. Discontented voices say that the Redskin mascot has been used for generation and they don’t consider it to be offensive.
Still, Government officials seem to be quite determined to make this change take place. Brown declared that the state is going to provide funds to help the schools buy new uniforms and signs for their teams.
Although Brown has signed and approved the bill banning the use of the term, he decided to veto a measured concerning the use of Confederate figures to name buildings and public parks. Brown declared that is an issue that address local decision makers and no the Government.
Tulare High School superintendent Sarah Koligian said that she is disappointed that governor Brown chose to sign the AB 30 bill, but the high school will nonetheless adhere to the law. Also, she said that the school is in search for another mascot and is plotting its next step. Together with the Board of Trustees, school community and Tulare community they will reconvene in order to select a mascot that is in accordance with the law.
The controversy surrounding the mascot’s nickname is very long and very old indeed. As a result of complaints coming from Native American students, Stanford University decided to drop the official nickname of the mascot in 1972. Miami University changed the mascot’s nickname from Redskins to Redhawks as the result of several complaints and around 30 high schools in the county decided to abandon this nickname since 1990.
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