A clash between local pride and cultural sensitivity has erupted in Massapequa, Long Island, reigniting the debate over Indigenous imagery in sports. The controversy centers around the Massapequa High School Chiefs, whose mascot—a stereotypical Native American figure in a headdress—has drawn criticism.
Adam Drexler, a former Chiefs hockey player and member of the Chickasaw Nation, once wore the team jersey with pride. However, a growing awareness of his Indigenous heritage has shifted his perspective, leading him to view the mascot as problematic.
This local conflict has escalated into a federal investigation. The Trump administration is examining whether New York State officials are discriminating against Massapequa by threatening to withhold funding. The town has defied a state mandate requiring the retirement of Native American mascots and team names, setting the stage for a legal showdown.
“There was no tribe east of the Mississippi that ever wore a headdress — ever,” said Drexler, 60, who was adopted and raised by a white Jewish family. “How can you argue for a symbol that has no significance or relevance here, while at the same time claiming you honor and respect the culture and history of the people this town is named after?”
It’s hard to miss the Native American imagery around Massapequa, a coastal hamlet 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Manhattan where roughly 90% of the residents are white.
The Chiefs logo is prominently featured on signs adorning school, police and fire department buildings. Students in recent years even painted a colorful mural with the logo and team name on a commercial building next to the high school in protest of change to the mascot.
A few minutes drive away, next to the town’s post office, a statue of a Native American figure wearing a flowing headdress towers over those depicting a buffalo, a horse and a totem pole.
“When you think of Massapequa, you think of the Chiefs,” said Forrest Bennett, a 15-year-old high school sophomore.
New York has been trying to rid schools of Native American mascots going back more than two decades to the administration of Republican Gov. George Pataki, and in 2022 gave districts until the end of the school year to commit to replacing them.
Massapequa was among four school districts on Long Island that filed a federal suit challenging the ban, arguing their choice of team names and mascots were protected by the First Amendment.
Districts could seek exemption from the state mandates if they gained approval from a Native American tribe, but state officials say Massapequa instead “stayed silent” for years.
The local school board declined to comment this week, instead referring to a Friday statement in which they lauded the investigation by the federal education agency, which President Donald Trump has moved to dismantle in recent weeks.
Trump, for his part, has made frequent visits to Long Island in recent years as the suburban region has shifted Republican. Last spring, he visited Massapequa to attend the wake of a New York City police officer.
“Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population,” Trump wrote in a recent social media post. Days later he posed with a Massapequa Chiefs sweater in the Oval Office. “I don’t see the Kansas City Chiefs changing their name anytime soon!”
