Methacton School Officials Have No Plans To Change 'Warriors' Team Name Or Mascot

LOWER PROVIDENCE, PA — A local school district that has a Native American name will not be changing the school mascot or sports team name anytime soon.

In an Oct. 13 message to Methacton School District families, Superintendent David Zerbe said that while the district recognizes there has been some recent concern over the use of the “Warrior” costume and the use of some Native American imagery, the district has “no interest in changing the district mascot name."

“We are and will remain the Methacton Warriors,” Zerbe stated in the message.

Zerbe’s message started out by highlighting the ongoing work by a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, which is made up of around 50 students, district staffers, community members, school directors and district administration stakeholders.

He said the committee recently provided the school district with a summary of recommendations for consideration in the Methacton strategic plan, and that those recommendations were highlighted in a virtual Zoom meeting in late September.

“As with all recommendations, my administration and I review them,” Zerbe stated in his message. “Similar to the focus groups that will meet later this month, these groups will make recommendations that will require review and determination as to their viability and suitability within the Strategic Plan.”

Zerbe then went on in his message to address the topic of the Methacton Warriors name and sports team mascot.

It is not exactly clear if there is a strong call for a changing of the school district’s sports team name and Indian headdress mascot imagery, but there does appear to be an online Change.org petition asking the school district to change the mascot.

The petition, which appears to have been up online for about a year or so, says it is looking to get around 10,000 signatures of support; as of Monday afternoon, around 8,471 people had signed the petition.

“This mascot change is long overdue by Methacton School District,” the petition states. “It is not only disrespectful, but the mascot itself is white washed. As a school that prides itself on the individuality of its students, racist mascots should also be removed.”

The petition was started by someone named Julia Povlow of Norristown.

According to information found on the school district's website, the word "Methacton" refers to the "hill" area extending from Eagleville in Lower Providence Township through the Fairview Village section of Worcester Township, which is considered one of the highest elevations in Montgomery County.

The website says the name was chosen by a majority vote of the community members residing in the school district when it was formed back in 1969.

A website for a group called the Pennsylvania Youth Congress singles out Methacton on its website as being among a group of 66 public schools across the commonwealth that have what the group terms "racist mascots."