Trump vows to defend Massapequa High School’s Chiefs mascot as New York’s woke crusade against indigenous names threatens $1 million in rebranding costs and decades of community tradition.
At a Glance
- New York state is forcing Massapequa High School to remove its ‘Chiefs’ mascot by year’s end, despite overwhelming community support for keeping it
- Former President Trump called the forced change “ridiculous” and instructed his future Education Secretary Linda McMahon to fight for the school
- The school district estimates rebranding would cost approximately $1 million
- A federal judge ruled against the district’s lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on indigenous imagery
- The Massapequa Little League “Chiefs” team won the Softball World Series in 2022, further cementing community attachment to the name
Another Day, Another Woke Attack on American Tradition
In the latest chapter of leftist America’s crusade to erase anything that might offend someone somewhere, Massapequa High School in Long Island finds itself fighting to keep its “Chiefs” nickname and indigenous imagery. A federal judge has ruled against the school district’s lawsuit challenging New York’s new law requiring all schools to eliminate Native American nicknames, logos, and mascots by the end of this year. This is despite overwhelming support from the community to preserve the name that has represented their school and their identity for generations.
As if schools didn’t have enough to worry about with plummeting test scores, violence, and the infiltration of radical gender ideology, New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration has decided that indigenous mascots are the real problem facing education today. Never mind that many of these symbols were adopted out of respect and admiration for Native American courage and leadership qualities. According to the woke manual, intent and context don’t matter anymore – only the feelings of self-appointed guardians of cultural sensitivity.
Trump Enters the Fray to Defend Common Sense
Former President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind the Massapequa community, calling the forced name change “ridiculous” and “an affront to our great Indian population.” Unlike the cultural revolutionaries trying to erase history and tradition, Trump recognized something simple that seems to escape the left: there’s nothing inherently offensive about the term “Chief,” which simply denotes leadership and respect – qualities that schools should be encouraging in their students.
“I agree with the people in Massapequa, Long Island, who are fighting furiously to keep the Massapequa Chiefs logo on their Teams and School. Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population. The School Board, and virtually everyone in the area, are demanding the name be kept. It has become the School’s identity and, what could be wrong with using the name, ‘Chief’? I don’t see the Kansas City Chiefs changing their name anytime soon! By copy of this TRUTH, I am asking my highly capable Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to fight for the people of Massapequa on this very important issue. LONG LIVE THE MASSAPEQUA CHIEFS!” Trump wrote.
Trump also directed his future Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to support Massapequa in this battle – a refreshing promise of federal pushback against state-level overreach into local community decisions. This stands in stark contrast to the Biden administration’s approach, which has been to encourage and fund diversity initiatives that often result in exactly this kind of cultural erasure and divisiveness.
The Real Cost of Virtue Signaling
The Massapequa school district estimates that rebranding would cost approximately $1 million – real taxpayer dollars that could be spent on, oh I don’t know, actual education? At a time when schools are struggling with budgets and parents are questioning the value they’re getting for their tax dollars, Hochul’s administration wants to force this community to spend seven figures replacing uniforms, signage, gym floors, and decades of memorabilia for absolutely no educational benefit whatsoever.
Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman put it perfectly when criticizing Governor Hochul’s position: “She must have bad thoughts in her head — when I think of a chief, I think of a leader. When I think of a warrior, I think of somebody with bravery… We honor and celebrate our Native American heritage here on Long Island.” The true irony here is that in the name of “respect,” New York is forcing the erasure of indigenous symbolism from public spaces, essentially making Native American culture less visible rather than more respected.
When Tradition Means Something
The “Chiefs” name means even more to this community after Massapequa’s Little League team won the Little League Softball World Series in 2022 under the same nickname. Unlike professional sports teams like the Washington Commanders (formerly Redskins) and Cleveland Guardians (formerly Indians) that caved to corporate pressure, this is a genuine community identity. The name “Chiefs” connects today’s students with generations of alumni who wore the same colors and took pride in the same identity.
The woke mob won’t stop until every vestige of American tradition is eliminated and replaced with bland, corporate-approved, focus-group-tested alternatives that offend absolutely no one and inspire absolutely no one. The battle over Massapequa’s Chiefs isn’t just about a mascot – it’s about whether communities still have the right to define their own identities or whether that power now belongs exclusively to progressive bureaucrats in state capitals. If Trump follows through on his promise to have the Department of Education defend Massapequa, it would be a welcome pushback against the cultural revolution that has already claimed too many American traditions.
