An African American father of two daughters has taken issue with the Ancient Spartans and King Leonidas, filing a lawsuit claiming that the mascot represents a symbol of "white supremacy" that violates state civil rights and constitutional protections.
He was also angered by the fact that ancient Spartans did not allow women to serve in their military during their reign, approximately 2,500 years ago.
An African American father from New York is demanding that his school district remove its new mascot, which depicts a Spartan warrior, arguing that these ancient Greek warriors symbolize oppression and white supremacy.
The so-called "woke" hysteria in the United States has reached its peak.
William King Moss III, the father of two second-grade students in the Brentwood Union Free School District on Long Island, filed a lawsuit last month, claiming that the mascot is a "white supremacy" symbol that violates state civil rights and constitutional protections.
The Spartan Mascot
"I see a white soldier who has conquered people and enslaved them," Moss told Newsweek. "That’s how I see it. I’m not looking at it emotionally, I’m looking at it logically, I assure you."
Moss stated that a simple Google search reveals problematic details about the ancient Spartan warriors.
"One of the first things I read was that the ancient Spartans enslaved the native people they conquered," Moss said. "And not only did they enslave them, but they did so violently. As an African American, I find it extremely offensive that the school district would use a symbol of violent enslavement as a mascot."
Moss, who has two daughters, was also outraged by the fact that the ancient Spartans did not allow women to serve in their military during their reign, approximately 2,500 years ago.
"It hasn’t even been 100 years since women were excluded from the military, and my daughters’ school district wants to put up a symbol that tells them they can’t join? What happens when that message reaches the kids?"
This is not the first mascot-related controversy in the Long Island area. Last year, Brentwood schools were forced to retire their previous mascot, a Native American figure, following a state decision banning public schools from using Native American imagery or logos. As a result, the Spartan mascot was chosen to replace the Native American figure for the district, which serves approximately 18,000 students.