Hot shot lawyer joins fight to save Massapequa ‘Chiefs' name out of love for hometown: ‘That's our identity'
Nashville, Tennessee-based Oliver Roberts, who grew up in town before graduating from Harvard Law, stepped up in the 11th hour to join a reinvigorated legal battle against the Empire State's logo ban.
'I think Massapequa is a great place, great people — a place of great values. I just thought it was my way of being able to give back,' Roberts, who played soccer and basketball in the Massapequa school system as a boy, told The Post.
'That's what this is really all about — the state attacking towns like Massapequa, which just are towns that care about their local values,' said Roberts, a 29-year-old constitutional lawyer who successfully took on the IRS twice in court.
Roberts kept up with the Massapequa school district's initial, lengthy lawsuit against the state Board of Regents after it imposed the ban in 2023, complete with threats of the funding penalties if schools didn't comply.
The Chiefs had faced their case getting dismissed in court in March, but the town sent an SOS to President Trump, who deployed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to intervene on behalf of the close South Shore community.
'LONG LIVE THE MASSAPEQUA CHIEFS!' the POTUS declared in April.
Roberts, who previously sat on the Massapequa district's finance subcommittee, felt a call to action.
He reached out to former school board member Gary Baldinger, a noteworthy Massapequa high alum who also played for the Kansas City Chiefs, with a simple text: 'How can I help out?'
Roberts worked pro bono for weeks to file an amended lawsuit ahead of a June deadline on behalf of the district, which has said rebranding would cost taxpayers $1 million.
Now with a long legal road ahead, Roberts is on the 'Pequa payroll and is playing for the Chiefs again, this time in the courthouse
In May, he and the school also penned a letter to McMahon, asking for further intervention, a referral to the US Department of Justice — and even a federal funding cut for New York State.
McMahon toured the high school on Friday.
Feds launch discrimination probe against NY officials — after Trump backs Massapequa Chiefs name
Long Island school asks Trump to step into battle over 'Chiefs' mascot with just one week until legal deadline
Massapequa sports teams thriving even as contentious legal battle over mascot rages on
Trump admin threatens federal civil rights lawsuit over NY high school being forced to ditch Native American mascot
Hot shot lawyer joins fight to save Massapequa 'Chiefs' name out of love for hometown: 'That's our identity'
'You've got the Huguenots, we've got the Highlanders, we've got the Scotsman. Why is that not considered in any way racist?' McMahon asked.
The secretary said she would take the case to the DOJ as a Title VI violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if New York didn't voluntarily back down.
Roberts agreed with McMahon's stance.
'It's clearly attacking just one group on the basis of race and national origin — any other race or ethnicity is totally unattacked by this regulation,' he said.
The new lawsuit also touches on other federal legalities, such as Congress's authority to regulate interstate commerce between the states and Native American tribes, he explained.
Massapequa has entered into a contract with the Native American Guardians Association, a group that joined McMahon at the school in support, to allow use of the Chiefs likeness following the 2023 ban.
'We're arguing that the arbitrary cut-off deadline [of 2023] is unconstitutional and discriminates against indigenous tribes' right to contract,' Roberts added, saying this should 'invalidate' the Board of Regents initiative.
On top of all that, Roberts, who played as a Chief for Berner Middle School and Unqua Elementary, firmly believes getting rid of the name does a disservice to the Massapequa youth.
'I've never seen anyone disrespect it. It's always like a point of pride…We're the Chiefs. That's our identity, we proudly wore it on our jerseys,' he said.
'We were often the winning team. That added to the fact that we just really respected the name and felt like it was part of our winning culture.'
Now, Roberts is planning to take that victorious reputation inside the courtroom with an update expected around July.
'We're very, very confident we're going to prevail in this matter for Massapequa,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Republican Senate candidates seeking to replace McConnell aim to define themselves at Fancy Farm
Republican Senate candidates seeking to replace McConnell aim to define themselves at Fancy Farm FANCY FARM, Ky. (AP) — A renowned Kentucky picnic turned into a rapid-fire Republican political skirmish on Saturday, as three candidates competing to succeed longtime U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell tried to pick apart one another while seeking early momentum in their 2026 primary campaign. Taking the stage amid milder-than-usual temperatures at the Fancy Farm picnic in western Kentucky, the GOP rivals — U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron and entrepreneur Nate Morris — turned up the heat in vying for the coveted Senate seat. Each tried to define himself and their opponents while speaking before a raucous crowd and a statewide TV audience. Barr and Cameron ripped into Morris' business record as founder of a waste software company and questioned Morris' credibility as a supporter of President Donald Trump's MAGA movement. 'Nate will do anything and say anything to run away from his past,' Cameron said. 'You can't claim to be MAGA when you build a company on ESG subsidies and DEI initiatives." Barr quipped: 'Nate calls himself the trash man, but dumpster fire is more like it.' Morris — who is campaigning as a populist and political outsider — kept up his strategy of harshly criticizing McConnell's legacy and trying to link Barr and Cameron to the venerable senator. 'If you want to know how Andy Barr or Daniel Cameron are going to act in the U.S. Senate – look no further than their 'mentor' Mitch McConnell,' Morris said. 'Both of these guys are very proud to tell you they wouldn't have careers if it weren't for Mitch,' Morris added. "Neither of these guys have built anything, done anything impactful, employed anyone.' McConnell, a Fancy Farm participant for decades, didn't delve into the Senate race during his picnic speech Saturday. But he gave a spirited summary of his Senate career in a speech to a GOP breakfast gathering Saturday. He pointed to his record of steering enormous sums of federal funds to his home state to build or fix infrastructure, support agriculture and military installations and more. McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, revealed in February, on his 83rd birthday, that he won't seek another term in Kentucky and will retire when his current term ends. With Democrats mostly skipping the picnic's political speeches, the crowd was divided among supporters of GOP candidates, cheering their favorite and jeering rival candidates. Speaking at Fancy Farm — where picnic organizers like to say the mouthwatering barbecue is hot and the political rhetoric even spicier — is considered a rite of passage for candidates seeking statewide office in the GOP-leaning Bluegrass State. Kentucky's 2026 primary election is next spring. Beside hurling insults at their rivals, the Senate candidates tried to define themselves at the picnic. Barr portrayed his congressional experience as an advantage setting him apart. He represents a district stretching from central Kentucky's bluegrass region to the Appalachian foothills. Barr said he helped shape and pass Trump's massive tax cut and spending reduction legislation. 'Some politicians like to say 'I'm a Trump guy,' " Barr said. 'They talk about supporting the president. But I'm the only candidate in this race who's actually doing it -- day in and day out in Congress.' Cameron, who is Black, used his speech to rail against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Cameron said he and his wife want their sons to 'grow up in a colorblind society, one based on merit and opportunity, not division and handouts. We don't need America built on diversity, equity and inclusion. We need America built on merit, excellence and intelligence.' Morris touted his hard-line stance on immigration. He supports a moratorium on immigration into the United States until every immigrant currently in the country illegally is deported. The three GOP rivals kept to one script they have all shared — lavishing praise on Trump. One of the biggest questions in the campaign is whether Trump will make an endorsement, seen as potentially decisive in determining who wins the primary. Democratic Senate candidate Pamela Stevenson was invited but opted to skip the picnic. Kentucky hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since Wendell Ford in 1992. The lone Democratic candidate who spoke at the picnic on Saturday was congressional candidate John 'Drew' Williams. Bruce Schreiner, The Associated Press
Wall Street Journal
4 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Watchdog Agency Opens Probe Into Jack Smith, Who Investigated Trump
WASHINGTON—An executive-branch ethics watchdog has opened an investigation into Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel who investigated Donald Trump before he returned to the White House. The Office of Special Counsel confirmed Saturday that it had opened the probe into Smith for possible violations of the Hatch Act, a federal law that bans partisan political activity by certain government employees. The agency has no criminal enforcement power, but can impose fines and other sanctions.
Associated Press
4 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Smithsonian denies White House pressure to remove Trump impeachment references
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House did not pressure the Smithsonian to remove references to President Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit and will include him in an updated presentation 'in the coming weeks,' the museum said Saturday. The revelation that Trump was no longer listed among impeached presidents sparked concern that history was being whitewashed to appease the president. 'We were not asked by any Administration or other government official to remove content from the exhibit,' the Smithsonian statement said. A museum spokesperson, Phillip Zimmerman, had previously pledged that 'a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments,' but it was not clear when the new exhibit would be installed. The museum on Saturday did not say when in the coming weeks the new exhibit will be ready. A label referring to Trump's impeachments had been added in 2021 to the National Museum for American History's exhibit on the American presidency, in a section called 'Limits of Presidential Power.' The section includes materials on the impeachment of Presidents Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson and the Watergate scandal that helped lead to President Richard Nixon's resignation. 'The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a twenty-five year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum's standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation,' the statement said. 'It was not consistent with other sections in the exhibit and moreover blocked the view of the objects inside its case. For these reasons, we removed the placard.' Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice — in 2019, for pushing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden, who would later defeat Trump in the 2020 presidential election; and in 2021 for 'incitement of insurrection,' a reference to the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to halt congressional certification of Biden's victory. The Democratic majority in the House voted each time for impeachment. The Republican-led Senate each time acquitted Trump.
