KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — Kalamazoo Public Schools may be the first in the state to leave out the name of a team mascot name deemed offensive when making announcements over the public address system at a live game.
They did it Monday when the Paw Paw Redskins came to Jeter Field to play the Maroon Giants on Monday. They were met by two-dozen protestors who say the “Redskins” name is a racial slur.
“Kalamazoo Central High School will not use the word ‘Redskins’ when announcing today’s game in our home stadium,” district spokesperson Alex Lee said. “We have Native American students who attend Kalamazoo Public Schools and are sensitive to those who might be offended by the word.”
It’s not clear if this is now policy, or was just for this particular game.
The debate has already played out in Paw Paw where the school board voted in February not to change the team’s name, and school officials say they have no plans to revisit the issue.
But the protests continue and pressure may build to reconsider.
State Superintendent Brian Whiston has asked for an attorney general’s opinion on whether he can withhold state funding from schools with offensive team mascots.
The Native American tribe that owns and operates the FireKeeper’s Casino, the Nottawaseppi Huron band of the Potawatomim, is offering an incentive. The have created a heritage fund that will do a number of things to enhance the teaching of Native American history, and pay for any costs involved in changing an offensive school mascot.
