California High School Pressed to Drop Its ‘Arab’ Mascot

Hot on the heels of the Washington Redskins name controversy, an Arab-American advocacy group wants a California high school to abandon its decades-old sports mascot and associated imagery on the grounds it offensively stereotypes Arabs.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is unhappy with the Coachella Valley High School’s “Arab” mascot – the name, the logo, half-time shows that feature an “Arab” figure and a belly dancer, as well as Arabian Nights-styled wall murals including one depicting an Arab man and woman using a book as a flying carpet.

“ADC is appalled at the use of a caricature depicted to be an ‘Arab’ as the official mascot of the high school,” ADC legal and policy director Abed Ayoub wrote in a Nov. 4 letter to Coachella Valley Unified School District superintendent Darryl Adams.

He observed that the mascot logo “depicts a man with a large nose, heavy beard, and wearing a kaffiay [keffiyeh], or traditional Arab head covering.”

“ADC understands the context in which the nickname was initially selected,” Ayoub wrote – apparently a reference to the valley’s history as a prime date-growing region, dating back to the early years of the 20th century.

“However, in the 21st century, such justifications for these actions are no longer tolerable.”

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Arab slime should think it an honor that a U.S. team is named after them