Bountiful High School Begins Process To Change ‘Braves’ Mascot Name
Nov 30, 2020, 4:18 PM | Updated: 4:41 pm
Bountiful High School (KSL TV)
(KSL TV)
BOUNTIFUL, Utah – Bountiful High School will begin the process of selecting a new mascot name, after criticism the “Braves” name was not culturally sensitive.
Principal Aaron Hogge made the announcement Monday on the school’s YouTube page. For the time being, the mascot will continue as the Braves until a new name can be selected.
Bountiful High School Principal Aaron Hogge announces the decision to begin the process of changing the school’s mascot. (Image courtesy Bountiful High School YouTube page)
However, this year’s seniors will not be affected. “The class of 2021 will graduate as The Braves. We will begin the process within our school community of selecting a culturally sensitive mascot that will unite all stakeholders and continue the tradition,” Hogge said.
The latest discussions on the mascot started during the summer after a wave of demonstrations followed the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota. That caused a renewed nationwide review of mascots considered to be culturally insensitive, as well as landmarks named after Civil War figures in the South.
The Washington Football Team of the NFL dropped its longtime mascot the “Redskins” before the 2020 season.
KSL TV reported last summer that organizers had started a petition to change the Bountiful High School mascot.
The Davis School District announced that school administrators had met with representatives of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, as well as students and faculty, before making the decision to change the mascot.
