CA High School Gets Rid of Controversial Arab Mascot

For a few decades, Coachella Valley High School has featured some rather eyebrow-raising Arab imagery, including a football team mascot that looks like this:

The team nickname is the Arabs, and there are pictures of Arab-looking men painted both on the school’s welcome sign and outside the gym.

Last year, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee complained about how the school’s mascot enforces gross stereotypes. And now, ten months after they made their outrage known, the school has acted.

They’ve retired the mascot (as well as the belly-dancing genie that accompanied it on the field) and, according to reports, are working on an “overhaul” of the mascot and will announce it shortly. They are not, however, letting go of the “Arabs” team nickname yet.

Watch KCBS’ report below:

[image via screengrab]

— —

Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!