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At Liverpool Central School, the Roman Warriors have been the Roman Warriors for 20 years.
The mascot is a guy dressed like a Roman, with a sword and a helmet and some armor, and whatever other adornments you might expect on a Roman Warrior. He is, by name and reputation, a Roman.
And, apparently, a racist.
Just by his very existence.
But not a racist against Romans – against Native Americans.
Because the word “warrior,” according to the New York State Department of Education, is an offensive word that insults and appropriates Native American heritage and may not be used in any context as a mascot or identifier for any school in the state of New York.
And by June 30, 2025, the Roman Warriors must be gone.
Ditto for any Indians, Redskins, Raiders, Chiefs, Iroquois, or Red Raiders out there – and there are scores of them. The same state that rips off Indians for hundreds of millions of dollars on gambling compacts is somehow all touchy-feely with its Native American brothers and sisters when it comes to school mascots.
And so it is that the history and heritage of school districts all across the state – to say nothing of the jerseys and gymnasium logos – have to go in the scrap heap, at great financial and emotional cost. And that comes with the implied assertion that each one of these districts is racist and bigoted for having Native American mascots in the first place. And if it weren’t for the intellectually and morally superior members of the state Board of Regents, this systemic racism against Native Americans would continue to be carried on by hundreds of thousands of mouth breathers all across the state.
Many claim that the Native American mascots are meant as an homage and an inspiration, as a way of remembering our region’s forebears and of challenging our youth to live up to them and their courage and strength. That is dismissed as eyewash.
Here’s an example: “The Warrior image represents bravery, strength, and an unwavering commitment to persist through adversity.”
Pure racism – if that’s a school’s defense for using “warrior.”
But that description isn’t from a school, it’s from a flavored cigar. Specifically, the Warrior flavored cigar from Seneca Manufacturing Company, a “100% Seneca owned” operation on Seneca Nation land near Salamanca, New York. The word in dramatic text runs the length of the package, whose front is dominated by a stylized face of what appears to be a Native American man, with long hair and a feather, red paint on his forehead, and a white line painted across his cheekbones and nose.
If a school district tried that, it would be vilified by the Board of Regents and lose all its state aid, because it’s racist.
Yet on a pack of cigars made by the Senecas themselves, it’s fine.
You understand, right?
Native American references by public schools are not meant to honor and inspire, they are meant to marginalize and demean, and cause a pain that cannot be understood.
When it comes to mascots, Scotsmen and Little Irish are fine, but Indians and Chiefs are racist.
You understand, right?
And you understand that this, like so much of the diversity cult, is meant to divide and enrage. Instead of bringing people together and building true friendship and respect, it leaves both parties aggrieved and estranged, both believing they have been wronged by the chauvinism of the other.
If the goal was to assure respect for New York’s Native American heritage and peoples, you would bring tribal leaders and people to schools, to meet and teach students. You would bring students on field trips to tribal lands, to meet and learn and experience. You would find common interests and causes, you would build friendships, you would be one, and recognize that respect for culture and identity is a two-way street enriching to all.
But that’s not what happened here.
This is New York, and the progressives are in control, and you will obey their command.
And you will acknowledge your racist guilt.
Know your place, avert your eyes, do what you’re told. The Regents have spoken.