Latest news with #MassapequaHighSchool
New York Post
08-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Long Island town holds ‘Save the Chiefs' rally in defiance of state ban on mascot
It's the most important pep rally on Long Island. The town of Massapequa is pulling out all the stops to preserve its Chiefs team nickname — with the backing of President Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon — including holding a festival Saturday at the high school's parking lot to fundraise for a homegrown legal battle against the state and its 2023 ban on Native American team names and logos. 'The kids identify with the Chiefs — we all do as a community,' proud Massapequa mom Tara Tarasi, who started a foundation to finance the years-long court fight and sells 'Save the Chiefs' shirts, told The Post. 'This whole town, street names, everywhere you go, is related to something Native American,' added Tarasi, whose four boys are proud to have worn the logo. 4 Kerry Wachter, president of the school board, poses outside Massapequa High School holding a T-shirt featuring the school's Native American mascot and an American flag on the front, and the phrase 'Long Live the Massapequa Chiefs' on the back, along with a quote attributed to former President Donald Trump from a visit to Long Island. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post 4 Lori Triail, Connie Versichelli, Julia Catoggio, Eileen Trainor, and Delores Hurst came out to show support for Massapequa High School, where they graduated in the early 1960s, amid efforts to preserve the school's Native American mascot. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post The demonstration — drivers passed by honking loudly in support — comes on the heels of McMahon's recent visit to Massapequa High School, where she warned the state to drop the ban or face the wrath of the Justice Department. 'That's how serious we are about it,' she said in the school gym. 'You've got the Huguenots, we've got the Highlanders, we've got the Scotsman. Why is that not considered in any way racist?' After McMahon's commentary and Massapequa's amended lawsuit, which called the state's actions discriminatory for applying solely to Native Americans, New York threatened Thursday to broaden its ban to all different ethnic team names the department finds offensive, such as the nearby Seaford Vikings, prospectively. 'That's their workaround … we've demonstrated that this regulation was not a good idea,' Massapequa School Board President Kerry Wachter told The Post at the rally. 4 Tim Ryan, Stacey Roy, Linda Rowse, Janice Talento, Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joe Saladino, School Board President Kerry Wachter, and School Board Vice President Jeanine Caramore pose for a photo outside Massapequa High School during the rally. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post In Massapequa, a forced rebranding would run the district about $1 million, Wachter claimed. 'Now you're wanting to put another unfunded mandate on top of all these districts who are just barely making it, just to not give Massapequa the win?' Once a Chief, always a Chief The issue hit home for Dolores Hurst, class of 1961, who came out with her fellow alumnae in their golden years to root on the Chiefs Saturday afternoon. 'Hopefully, we'll be Chiefs now and forever,' Hurst, whose husband and father were fire chiefs in the volunteer Massapequa Fire Department, said. 'It has meant so much to this town for decades since the 1950s.' Now 81, Hurst called it an 'astonishing' double standard for the state to try to remove the term from schools, considering it's present in so many other official capacities. President Trump's intervention — his now locally famous 'LONG LIVE THE MASSAPEQUA CHIEFS!' quote was also sold on shirts Saturday — became 'more than we could have expected, but it's what we needed,' Hurst said. Andy Kuzma, 73, dressed up as Uncle Sam out of love for the town — and disdain for the state's bureaucrats for attempting to get rid of the team name. 4 The Massapequa Chiefs logo is seen in the school gym during a press conference and visit with U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon at Massapequa High School in Massapequa, N.Y. on Friday, May 30, 2025. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post 'This is all BS,' Kuzma, of nearby Levittown, said. 'Massapequa shouldn't have to spend a penny … I've never seen somebody in town be derogatory with it.' Rather than erasing local roots, Tarasi is also using her foundation to try introducing additional Native American programming in the school system — allowing students to further learn about the town's origins. 'They want to understand and actually feel connected,' she said. 'Just getting rid of one piece of it in the school district is not going to get rid of the whole meaning behind the town.' And, for Wachter, she only cares that the tradition remains — even if it costs her job. 'We want to preserve this identity, we want to preserve the Chiefs,' she said. 'If we have to sacrifice our seats to do it, we will do it.'
New York Post
05-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
New York won't rescind Native American mascot ban and instead suggests broadening it — despite Trump's threat
New York education officials won't rescind the state's ban on Native American mascots and team names, despite threats from the Trump administration that it risks losing federal funding. Instead, New York officials suggested in a letter to the US Department of Education on Thursday that they could broaden the state ban to include names and mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups that the department deems offensive. The federal agency last week determined New York violated Title VI of the federal civil rights law by issuing a statewide ban on the use of Native American mascots and logos. Advertisement 3 The Massapequa Chiefs logo is seen in the school gym during a press conference and visit with U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon at Massapequa High School in Massapequa, N.Y. on Friday, May 30, 2025. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post The department's civil rights office found the state ban is discriminatory because names and mascots that are still permitted are also derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the 'Dutchmen' and the 'Huguenots.' New York officials said they're willing to work with federal officials to 'reach a resolution as to the appropriate standard,' wrote Daniel Morton-Bentley, legal counsel for the state education department. Advertisement Morton-Bentley also noted in his letter that the federal government's current stance in support of keeping Native American team names and mascots runs counter to the agency's previous stance on the issue — not to mention those of the US Commission on Civil Rights, tribal leaders, state governments, and professional organizations that have long deemed them harmful and offensive. What's more, a federal judge in New York earlier this year dismissed a lawsuit brought by some local districts that have refused to comply with the state mandate to rid their schools of offensive Native American mascots and team names, Morton-Bentley wrote. 3 President Donald Trump attends a meeting with the Fraternal Order of Police in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Washington. AP The education department and its civil rights office, he argued, is 'not a court of last resort for unsuccessful litigants.' Advertisement Spokespersons for the federal education department didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon last week visited Massapequa, a Long Island town that refuses to get rid of its Native American chief mascot, and was among the local districts that unsuccessfully challenged the state in federal court. 3 A person lies on the grass in front of Massapequa High School, in Massapequa, N.Y., Friday, April 25, 2025. AP McMahon said she would give New York ten days to sign an agreement rescinding the ban and apologizing to Native Americans for having discriminated against them and attempting to 'erase' their history. Advertisement New York school districts have until June 30 to commit to replacing offensive Native American mascots or team names, or risk losing state funding. They can be exempt from the mandate, however, if they reach an agreement with a local Native American tribe. The state education department said as of Thursday, three districts have sought and received extensions as they work to comply with the mandate. Massapequa was not among them.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Utah's relationship with Ute Indian Tribe shows a different approach to Trump-New York mascot debate
The Trump administration stepped into a fight between New York's Education Department and a Long Island high school that didn't want to change the name of its mascot, the 'Chiefs,' after the state said it would withhold money from schools that didn't shed Native American monikers. The debate over whether sports teams should continue using Indigenous imagery has led to a variety of different outcomes. For some teams and schools, the dispute has triggered change. The former Cleveland Indians, Washington Redskins and St. John's University Redmen, for example, are now the Guardians, Commanders and Red Storm, respectively. But for other teams in the midst of the Native American mascot debate, there's been cooperation and agreement. Locally, a mutually-beneficial agreement between the Ute Indian Tribe and the University of Utah has proven elemental in the state's flagship university retaining its official nickname: 'The Utes.' Central Michigan University — home of the Chippewas — has a similar, longstanding partnership with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. This approach may show another way forward as the fight between Trump administration and the state of New York heats up. During a recent visit to New York's Massapequa High School, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said the state is discriminating against the school district that refuses to jettison its Native American 'Chief' mascot — and threatened it could risk losing federal funding. McMahon said an investigation by her agency has determined that New York officials violated Title VI of the federal civil rights law by banning the use of Native American mascots and logos statewide, The Associated Press reported. Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal funds. The Education Department's civil rights office argues the New York state ban is discriminatory because names and mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups — such as the 'Dutchmen' and the 'Huguenots' — are still permitted. In front of an audience of students and local officials at the Massapequa High School gymnasium, McMahon said the school's 'Chiefs' mascot was an 'incredible' representation of Native American leadership, according to the AP. 'The Trump Administration will not stand idly by as state leaders attempt to eliminate the history and culture of Native American tribes,' she said. McMahon reportedly added that her department is putting the state on notice to sign an agreement rescinding its Native American mascot ban — and apologizing to Native Americans for having discriminated against them and attempting to 'erase' their history. JP O'Hare, a spokesperson for the New York education department, dismissed McMahon's visit as 'political theater' — saying the school district failed to get even 'basic facts' about the area's Native American population right, according to The New York Times. The National Congress of American Indians, considered the country's oldest and largest Native American advocacy group, reaffirmed its long-standing opposition to the use of unsanctioned Native American imagery. Such depictions are not tributes — but, instead, are rooted in racism, cultural appropriation, and intentional ignorance, the organization said in a statement. 'Native people are not mascots,' said NCAI President Mark Macarro. 'We have our own languages, cultures, and governments — our identities are not anyone's mascot or costume. No political endorsement or misguided notion of 'honoring' us will change the fact that these mascots demean our people, diminish the enduring vibrancy of our unique cultures, and have no place in our society.' Trump ordered McMahon's agency to launch an inquiry into the Massapequa mascot dispute last month, making the coastal suburb 'an unlikely flashpoint in the enduring debate over the place of Indigenous imagery in American sports,' The Associated Press reported. The Long Island, New York, village — which is roughly 90% white — is named after the Massapequa, who were part of the broader Lenape, or Delaware, people who inhabited the woodlands of the Northeastern U.S. and Canada for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. Notable Massapequa High School alums include comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Hollywood's Baldwin brothers. Native American mascots and imagery are, of course, also part of Utah's historical sports landscape. Most prominently, the University of Utah changed its nickname from 'Redskins' to 'Utes' in 1972 after receiving approval from the Ute Indian Tribe. A 'Memorandum of Understanding' between the Ute Indian Tribe and the University of Utah was updated and signed in 2020. 'The Ute Indian Tribe encourages the University of Utah to use the Ute name for the University's sports programs with its full support. The University recognizes that the Ute name is at the core of the cultural identity of the Tribe and its members, and that it constitutes an inseparable element of their rich cultural traditions. 'The University is honored to be allowed to continue to use the Ute name with due respect and integrity.' The memorandum added that the relationship between the Ute Indian Tribe and the University of Utah is twofold: 'First, to build genuine respect and understanding of the tribe's history, culture and contributions to the state (past, current and future); and second, to have the university assist tribal members in helping their children lead healthy lives and be prepared to pursue a college education.' The University of Utah also committed to use the Ute name 'in a considered and respectful manner — reflecting the pride and dignity of indigenous people and their traditions.' Additionally, the University of Utah pledged to support Ute Indian and other Native American students through scholarships to the school — along with financial support to enhance Ute Indian Tribe educational programs and opportunities. The school has also agreed to provide 'enrichment and educational opportunities' for Ute Indian Tribal Member youth on both the Ute reservation and the university campus — including summer youth programs for students. Cultural programs on the University of Utah campus included the Ute Proud campaign. Each football season, the school designates a Ute Proud game to honor the Ute Indian Tribe culture. Players wear a specially designed Ute Proud helmet for the game — and members of the Northern Ute Tribe perform a traditional dance at halftime. The issue of Native American mascots and imagery at Utah high schools has also grabbed headlines. In 2020, Bountiful High School's Braves mascot was retired after months of study, public meetings and private meetings that included seeking the input of representatives of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, Bountiful High School students, faculty, staff and community members. Bountiful's mascot is now 'The Redhawks.' And last April, the Iron County School District Board of Education, in a split vote, opted to maintain Cedar High School's current wolf mascot and 'Reds' moniker, setting aside a proposal to restore the school's historical 'Redmen' name. Five years earlier, the 'Redmen' name was retired by a 3-2 vote of the then-school board, but the change was divisive and members of the community often raised the issue during the public comment portion of the school board's meetings. The Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah asked the Iron County board not to reinstate the 'Redmen' name. At least two Utah high schools use Native American mascots. North Summit High School in Coalville uses 'The Braves' — while Escalante High School goes by 'The Moquis.'
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Trump's education secretary threatens federal civil rights lawsuit over Long Island high school being forced to ditch Chiefs mascot
She's going to the mat for the Chiefs. President Trump's Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is threatening to bring a civil rights case against the Empire State for forcing a Long Island high school to ditch its Native American mascot. The former WWE promoter called the New York Board of Regents' 2023 decision to ban Massapequa High School's beloved 'Chiefs' nickname a 'violation' of Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act during a visit to the school Friday. If the state doesn't reverse course and allow the Chiefs and their feathered headdress logo to remain, McMahon said she would refer the issue to the Justice Department to pursue. 'That's how serious we are about it,' McMahon said inside the high school's gym after touring classrooms and telling students, 'it's a real pleasure to be in a room full of Chiefs.' She claimed New York was targeting the Chiefs, while allowing other schools with names like Vikings or Dutchmen to remain. 'If you look at the states, you've got the Huguenots, we've got the Highlanders, we've got the Scotsman. Why is that not considered in any way racist?' she asked. While McMahon and the local supporters defended the name, state officials said they were 'doing the students of Massapequa a grave disservice by ignoring the facts and true history of the local Indigenous people.' State Education Department spokesperson JP O'Hare criticized that the town has 'failed to get even the most basic facts right' — such as the feathered headdress that Massapequa displays being locally inaccurate, and that the term chief was not used in the area, either. 'And most importantly, there is no recognition of the ways in which European settlers were responsible for displacing Indigenous people from their homes,' O'Hare's statement said, adding that 'local Indigenous representatives' find that 'certain Native American names and images perpetuate negative stereotypes, and are demonstrably harmful to children.' 'Equally troubling is the fact that a U.S. Secretary of Education would take time out of her schedule to disrupt student learning in the name of political theatre.' Massapequa school board president Kerry Wachter rebutted, saying, 'They're sticking to their talking points and listening to only one side of the story.' She pointed to a 2016 poll which showed nine in 10 Native Americans do not take offense to terms like 'Redskins.' Trump, who posed with a Massapequa shirt in the Oval Office, ordered McMahon to take up the issue in April. The federal government became involved after a plea from Wachter, whose district, among other Native American-named towns on Long Island, unsuccessfully sued New York over the mandate. 'This is a school that really takes its education seriously, and they're incredibly, incredibly behind their school, behind their Chiefs,' McMahon told The Post Friday. 'I think this is wrong — what's happening at Massapequa, to take away this incredible mascot and emblem of Chiefs.' After Trump intervened, O'Hare said in a statement that Massapequa 'did not reach out to Indigenous leaders or engage with the Department's Mascot Advisory Committee to determine whether its Native American team name and mascot would be permissible.' 'If members of the Massapequa board of education are genuinely interested in honoring and respecting Long Island's Native American past, they should talk to the Indigenous people who remain on Long Island,' the rep said. 'Our regulations, in fact, specifically permit the continued use of Native American names and mascots if approved by local tribal leaders.' But Massapequa School District Superintendent Dr. William Brennan called the state's claim 'simply inaccurate.' He added that 'several attempts' were made by the district and local tribal leaders attended a roundtable in summer of 2023. Frank Black Cloud, a leading member of the Native American Guardians Association, which is working with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman on the issue, is a firm supporter of keeping names like Chiefs in schools and calls it a term of endearment. 'People want to emulate you,' Black Cloud, who has previously defended names like Fighting Sioux and Redskins, said at the event. 'You're talking about strength, talking about being something that people uphold.' Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino, an MHS alumnus and hockey player, doubled down that this is a case of 'rules for thee but not for me' in the Empire State. 'The New York State Department of Education has someone who is the chief of staff,' he said. 'Are they going to change their name?' Massapequa's suit — a last-ditch effort to stop the district's nine schools from spending $1 million on a forced rebranding — was, ironically, dismissed by a chief justice weeks ago, Wachter explained. Salt in the wound, Seaford, the first town west of Massapequa, along with Port Washington, named their teams the Vikings, to no objection from the state of New York. Hofstra University in Nassau was previously known as the Flying Dutchmen as well. 'They have Spartans and Vikings and all these things, but they're seeing this particular group of people who are not allowed to be represented,' said Wachter, whose district also filed an amended court complaint ahead of a June deadline. 'That's a civil rights issue … We're standing tall, showing Massapequa pride, and we do take offense to them trying to take it away from us.' The town will be having a 'Save the Chiefs' fundraiser next weekend at the high school, and Black Cloud will engage in a Native American seminar at Massapequa's popular Nautilus Diner on Saturday. 'We're about education, not eradication,' said Black Cloud, who flew from his North Dakota home to meet McMahon. 'If you have an opposing idea, let me hear it. I'd like to open up a dialogue with you.'
New York Post
02-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Republicans roast Democrats in trying to ban ‘Chiefs,' Native-American mascots in NY schools
Republicans are planning to attack their Democratic opponents over New York's effort to force Massapequa to drop its Chiefs mascot as part of a ban on Native-American imagery in school logos. The GOP sees the mascot controversy as another example of Democratic-run Albany pushing fringe issues, and wants them to pay a political price for it. 'We have a lot of chiefs in volunteer fire departments in New York,' said John McLaughlin, a pollster for New York Republicans and President President Trump — also known as the commander-in-chief. 5 New York Republicans are planning to bash state Democrats over the controversy surrounding Massapequa High School being pressured to change its Chiefs mascot. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post 'Hochul and the Democrats should focus on improving reading and math and not indoctrinating our students,' he said. McLaughlin noted that Hochul is already unpopular on Long Island — she has a 55% unfavorable rating in the New York suburbs compared to 36% favorable in a recent Siena College poll. She is up for reelection next year. The comments come after US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Massapequa on Friday and threatened to bring a civil rights case against the Empire State for forcing the high school to ditch its mascot. The event was coordinated by Nassau County Executive and Trump pal Bruce Blakeman, who is up for re-election this fall. 'Denigrating whole communities like Massapequa and Wantagh is not a good look for Governor Hochul, who seems hell bent on making as many enemies as she can on Long Island,' Blakeman, who also is also eying a run for governor next year, told The Post Sunday. 5 Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman holding up 'Chief Nation' shirts at a press conference at Massapequa High School on May 30, 2025. Courtesy of Nassau County Executive Blakeman's Democratic opponent for county executive, Seth Koslow said, 'School pride matters, but it's hard to believe this is the top concern of the federal government right now.' The New York Board of Regents' and state Education ordered schools to ban Native American mascots back in 2023. The members of the education policy-making board are appointed by the Democratic-controlled state legislature. The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee is using the controversy to tar Democratic incumbents up for re-election next year on Long Island and elsewhere, including Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen. 5 Blakeman accused Gov. Hochul of 'denigrating whole communities' in Long Island by forcing schools to abandon their mascots. Stephen Yang 'It's another day that ends in 'y,' so obviously Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen's Democrat Party is more concerned with demonizing a high school mascot than lowering taxes and costs for Long Island families,' said NRCC spokeswoman Maurenn O'Toole. 'Democrats are completely missing the plot, and voters will hold Suozzi and Gillen accountable for their utterly foolish, destructive, and out of touch agenda next fall.' But Suozzi told The Post Sunday, 'I support the Massapequa Chiefs.' 5 A Chiefs mural seen at Massapequa High School. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Suozzi said Republicans are engaging in cheap politics to change the subject. 'This is nonsense, and just another distraction from national Republicans. Congressman Suozzi supports the Massapequa Chiefs, but not the petty partisan politics that people can't stand,' said Suozzi senior campaign adviser Kim Devlin. 'National Republicans should spend their time reducing prices, negotiating a bipartisan fix on immigration, lowering their own proposed record-breaking deficits, and protecting people's healthcare—not cutting it. Congressman Suozzi has always stood with our communities, and no amount of desperate distortion will change that.' State Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs, a close ally of Hochul who also is the Nassau County Democratic leader, said Trump and the GOP are trying to deflect from their unpopular policies in DC by focusing on mascots. 'This is a Republican distraction. The Democrats have not made this an issue,' Jacobs insisted. 'The Republicans are trying to distract from all the damage they're doing in Washington. They want to talk about mascots instead of tariffs, cuts to Medicaid, SNAP benefits and education programs,' Jacobs said. 'This is what Republicans do every election — they try to scare and anger people.' Hochul, through a rep, sought to distance herself from the mascot controversy. 5 A Massapequa Chiefs scoreboard at the high school's baseball field. AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File 'The decision being discussed was made by the independent State Education Department, which is not under our Administration's jurisdiction,' said Hochul spokesman Gordon Tepper. 'While Secretary McMahon focuses on WWE-style distractions, Governor Hochul is focused on what matters: fully funding Long Island's public schools and making sure every kid gets a high-quality education.' Last year, Trump and the GOP successfully slammed Democrats for supporting the unpopular policy of allowing transgender athletes to compete against biological females in sports. Republicans said they are pleasantly surprised — even baffled — at state officials going after local school districts on Long Island, of all places. Numerous Long Island towns have native American names — honoring tribal history — Massapequa, Wyandanch, Manhasset, Mineola, Quogue, Amagansett, Patchogue, Hauppauge, Patchogue, among others.
