The Washington Redskins' owner's refusal to change the team's offensive name may be getting a lot of national coverage these days, but the NFL team is far from the only one with a mascot problem. A California high school is currently in hot water over its own team name — kids at Coachella Valley High School play and root for the "Arabs."
Not surprisingly, the name doesn't sit well with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which has sent a letter requesting administrators do something about it. That would likely mean getting rid of the school's angry looking mascot … and the belly dancer who shows up at football games.
Can't believe this exists in a high school in 2013? Just wait until you hear some of the other offensive team names American kids are playing under at high schools across the country.
Would you let your kids play for number 7? What is your kids' school mascot?
Image via Coachella Valley High School
The Midgets
Midget is a word used to describe people who suffer from dwarfism, an actual medical condition, but it's not a nice one. According to Little People of America, "The term dates back to 1865, the height of the 'freak show' era, and was generally applied only to short-statured persons who were displayed for public amusement, which is why it is considered so unacceptable today."
Savages
Pairing the name Savage with the image of a Native American may be stereotyping at its worst, depicting a whole race of people as uncivilized beasts.
Maniacs
The term maniac may not always be offensive, but when your mascot clearly depicts a person meant to be mentally ill, it certainly is in poor taste.
Arabs
In a letter to the Coachella administration, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee stated that the school's mascot "perpetuates demeaning stereotypes of Arabs and Arab Americans. … By allowing continued use of the term and imagery, you are commending and enforcing the negative stereotypes of an entire ethnic group, millions of whom are citizens of this nation."
Hillbillies
Slurs against poor white people aren't cool either.
Orphans
For kids who have lost a parent, this is definitely not a funny name.
Whitefaces
The KKK must be so proud.
Hoboes
Just like the hobo wedding that drew criticism for making light of a serious matter, this sends a message that a hobo is somehow fun rather than what the term really represents: someone down-on-their-luck trying desperately to find work to feed themselves and/or a family. Not the kind of thing most kids have on their mind when they're screaming "go team."
