Trump's education secretary Linda McMahon makes Long Island high school's mascot a 'top priority'

Source: The Independent

Friday 22 August 2025 12:20 BST


Education Secretary Linda McMahon has said that protecting the Native American chief mascot of Massapequa High School in Long Island, New York, is a “top priority” for her department. The school has been embroiled in a legal fight over the Massapequa Chiefs name, as has nearby Connetquot over its Thunderbirds name, since 2023 when the New York State Board of Regents banned the use of indigenous names, logos and imagery in public schools and threatened to withdraw state funding from any that did not comply with its ruling.

Four Long Island districts, including Massapequa, challenged the ban, only for a federal judge to side with the Empire State earlier this year. The dispute echoes that over the renaming of the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians at a national level.

President Donald Trump has demanded those names be restored and has recently turned his attention to Massapequa, telling Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on Sunday: “I love Massapequa. I’ve heard that name for years. I have a lot of friends in Massapequa… We’ve got to get the name back to the Chiefs.” Trump added that, in his opinion, it is “demeaning” to Native Americans to lose the Chiefs name, rather than insensitive to keep it.

The name was originally chosen to remember the Massapequa Tribe, who lived on Long Island until they were displaced by European colonists in the 17th century.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/linda-mcmahon-massapequa-chiefs-trump-b2812426.html