The commissioner’s decision in Mason v. Port Neches-Groves ISD never reveals the exact nature of Mr. Mason’s complaint.  It does tell us that Mr. Mason complained that the school mascot violates civil rights laws. But it doesn’t tell us what the mascot is. The Dawg had to do Extensive Research on this (ten seconds on Google) to find that the PNG athletic teams are like the Cleveland Baseball Team—the Indians.

You probably know that the Cleveland Indians will play their final game in a few weeks.  Next year they will be the Cleveland Guardians. That change came after years of complaints and protests, particularly about the depiction of the laughing Chief Wahoo.  Personally, I think they should have changed to the Cleveland Spiders—that was the original name of the baseball team in Cleveland, and I suspect it would sell a lot more T-shirts than “Guardians.” 

But the PNG Indians will continue to be the Indians.  Commissioner Morath dismissed the case, noting that Mr. Mason failed to allege a violation of any school law of the state.  And he certainly does not want to get embroiled in local disputes over mascots.  After all, what is a Wampus Cat anyway????

It’s Docket No. 027-R10-02-2021, decided on June 22, 2021.

DAWG BONE: THE TEXAS EDUCATION CODE SAYS NOTHING ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL MASCOT.

Got a question or comment for the Dawg?  Let me hear from you at jwalsh@wabsa.com. 

Tomorrow: a sign of things to come…