Brentwood School Faces NAACP Lawsuit Over Spartan Mascot In Latest Display Of Cultural Absurdity
A New York school district is being dragged into court over its new Spartan mascot, with a local NAACP leader claiming the ancient Greek warrior is somehow a symbol of oppression.
William King Moss III, who leads the Suffolk County NAACP and has two daughters enrolled in the Brentwood Union Free School District, filed a lawsuit arguing the school’s decision violates civil rights and promotes racial and gender inequality. He claims Spartans enslaved people and excluded women from the military, which he says makes the mascot unacceptable in modern public schools.
The district had retired its Native American-themed mascot after a state mandate last year. Following a community vote, the Spartans were chosen in April 2024 as the replacement. The school board later approved the decision unanimously.
The change is expected to cost the district more than $400,000, though officials have said they followed all state education guidelines. As of now, there is no Spartan imagery on uniforms or facilities, with the full rollout scheduled for the next school year.
Moss, who is representing himself in the lawsuit, has a history of legal battles with the district, including a past employment-related case that was dismissed. He is now calling the Spartan identity a “symbol of white supremacy,” despite the lack of racial motivation behind ancient Greek practices.
Members of the local Greek community pushed back strongly. One Long Island pastor noted that Spartans primarily fought other Greeks and that women in Spartan society had more rights than most other women of that time, including property ownership and education access.
Moss has also criticized the vote itself, arguing the mascot should have required a majority instead of a plurality. The Spartans received 2,079 of more than 9,200 votes cast by students and residents.
