Education Dept Says NY School Violated Civil Rights by Dropping 'Thunderbirds' Mascot

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has found that the Connetquot Central School District on Long Island violated federal civil-rights law when it changed its team name from the "Thunderbirds" to the "T-Birds" to comply with New York’s ban on Native American mascots. In a Thursday finding, OCR said the state mandate itself is discriminatory because schools may still use nicknames derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as "Dutchmen" and "Huguenots," and told the district it can voluntarily resolve the violation by restoring the 'rightful' Thunderbirds name. OCR chief Kimberly Richey said the Trump administration 'will not allow ideologues' to decide some national-origin-based mascots are acceptable while others are banned, framing the move as an equal-treatment issue. New York education officials blasted the federal conclusion as making 'a mockery' of civil-rights laws and insisted they remain committed to ending 'harmful, outdated, and offensive depictions of Indigenous people,' pointing to a prior deal that let Connetquot use 'T-Birds' and non-Native imagery like eagles or lightning bolts. Native advocates note the Thunderbird is a powerful, benevolent spirit in many Indigenous traditions, and the clash sets up a broader legal and cultural fight over whether efforts to retire Native mascots can themselves run afoul of Title VI and federal civil-rights enforcement.