A New York father and NAACP leader is demanding his school district ditch its new “Spartans” mascot, alleging the warriors from ancient Greece symbolize enslavement and white supremacy.
William King Moss III, a father of two second-graders in the Brentwood Union Free School District on Long Island, filed a lawsuit last month claiming the Spartans moniker represents a symbol of “white supremacy” that violates state civil rights and constitutional protections.
“I look at a white soldier that has conquered people and enslaved them as white supremacy,” Moss told Newsweek early Tuesday. “That’s how I look at it. I think that’s very clear to me when I logically look at it. My emotions are not in this at all, I assure you.”
Moss, who also serves as president of the NAACP’s Islip-Smithtown chapter, said a simple Google search reveals what he called problematic details about the ancient warriors that fought on behalf of the Greek city-state of Sparta around 400 B.C.E.
“One of the first things I read was that ancient Spartans were enslaves of indigenous people who they conquered,” Moss said. “And not just enslavers, but violent enslavers. As an African American, I find that highly offensive that the school district would even consider putting up a symbol of violent enslavers.”
This is not the first mascot controversy to envelop the Long Island district. Last year, Brentwood schools were forced to drop their former name of the “Indians” after a state ruling banned public schools from using Native American imagery or logos. The “Spartans” mascot was decided to replace the “Indians” for the district, which includes about 18,000 students.
Moss, who has two daughters, said he was also angered that ancient Spartans didn’t allow women in their military during their reign, some 2,500 years ago.
It would be another 2,400 years before the U.S. military established the Army Nurse Corps, which is widely seen as the first time women were allowed to serve, albeit only as military nurses.
“We are less than 100 years out from women being excluded from the military,” he said. “We’re not even 100 years out. And my daughters’ school district wants to put a symbol that says to them they can’t do the military. What’s going to happen when this messaging gets out to the kids?”
The Spartans name and mascot is popular in both collegiate and high-school level sports, mostly without controversy. Its most well-known use is at Michigan State University, though San Jose State, UNC-Greensboro, Norfolk State and Case Western Reserve also use the moniker. More than 400 high schools nationwide go by the Spartans, according to MascotDB.com, making it the 18th most popular team name.
Moss, a former math teacher in the district, said school officials need to consider yet another mascot name after unanimously adopting the Spartans moniker in November, according to his lawsuit.
“I have played this out logically in my mind, rationally with my principles, rationally with the law, and I’m not in agreement with this decision,” Moss said.
District officials declined to comment on Moss’ lawsuit, but Superintendent Wanda Ortiz-Rivera noted that Brentwood complied with state Education Department regulations to eliminate use of indigenous-themed mascots, team names and imagery.
“In response, the Board of Education led an inclusive process that involved input from students, staff, and the broader community,” Ortiz-Rivera said in a statement. “This process ultimately resulted in the selection of the Spartans as our new mascot. The Board officially approved the resolution on November 21, 2024.”
Of 9,258 votes cast, 2,079 ballots selected the Spartans as the district’s next mascot, or 22 percent, beating out the Owls, Bears, Bulldogs and Green Machine.
“This is a racial issue,” Moss insisted. “You cannot put this into play. If you have to get rid of one race, you can’t replace it with another race. You can’t be the Brentwood Jews, you can’t be the Brentwood Zulus and you can’t be the Brentwood Spartans — plain and simple.”
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