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It’s a win for the Chiefs.
New York State plans to drop part of its statewide ban on Native American imagery in school sports logos days before a court showdown with a Long Island district fighting back.
The Board of Regents “intends to repeal” a section of its 2023 mandate that has prohibited “school officers and employees” from “utilizing or promoting any Indigenous name, logo, or mascot” while on campus or at a school function, according to court documents reviewed by The Post.
The move is a “huge victory” for Massapequa’s school district, which is fighting the ban with the backing of the Trump administration to hold onto its Chiefs name and logo.
“After years of fighting to keep the Chiefs, we’re proud of this victory,” Massapequa Board of Education President Kerry Wachter told The Post.
“We encourage the Board of Regents to take the next step and repeal the regulation in its entirety. Once a Chief, always a Chief.”
The Post reached out to the New York State Department of Education for comment.
Massapequa was one of several districts that sued New York over the ban and accused the state of committing a civil rights violation in solely prohibiting Native American imagery but offering no restrictions of imagery related to any other ethnicity.
Non-compliant public schools have risked losing state funds over opposition, and Massapequa estimated it would cost nearly $1 million to rebrand away from its long-used name and logo.
Other Long Island school districts, like the neighboring Amityville Warriors, were priced out of litigation as months dragged into years.
Students at Massapequa are also poking fun at the lengthy legal proceedings, with the senior class of 2027 making shirts that read “2till 7he Chiefs!” amid the ongoing standoff.
Highly anticipated legal arguments from both sides are set to begin on Nov. 4 but Massapequa’s lawyer, Oliver Roberts, sees the initial rollback as a sign of what’s to come.
“The State has realized that its attempts to erase Massapequa’s history and tradition are patently unconstitutional,” said the attorney, who was raised in town.
President Trump pledged his support to “fight” for Chiefs nation in 2025 with a Truth Social post that read “LONG LIVE THE MASSAPEQUA CHIEFS!” and posed in the Oval Office with a Massapequa sweatshirt.
He assigned Education Secretary Linda McMahon to investigate the ban and, after visiting Massapequa High School in May that year, she turned over civil rights-related findings to the Justice Department.
The anti-woke Native American Guardians Association also sued New York over the ban and is willing to take their case to the Supreme Court.
The group’s lawyer, Chap Petersen, called it “the dumbest law of all time” in January.
Republican gubernatorial candidate and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has also pledged to preserve the logo and name if elected.
He recently taunted opponent Gov. Kathy Hochul at a Pequa football game by holding Chiefs gear with the message “You tried to take that away from Massapequa – no way.”
The court documents show that the Board of Regents plans to formally announce the partial repeal at a November meeting and will vote on it for the final time in February.