National Adidas Funding Available For Calaveras
San Andreas — Executives from the sportswear company adidas announced they will provide funding and logo design assistance to any school in the nation that voluntarily wants to — or as Calaveras High School must — change its mascot.
Calaveras Union School District Superintendent Mark Campbell says, “Our perspective is the devil is in the details. I don’t believe anything comes for free, I am sure there are strings attached. That said, we are open to dialogue that could possibly provide some funding for us to make this transition. So, we are not closed off to conversation, but cautiously skeptical as to what this actually is, when the details shape up.”
The adidas announcement was made in conjunction with the company’s attendance at the White House Tribal Nations Conference, in Washington, DC. The company says it wants to ensure the transition is not cost prohibitive for high schools.
Calaveras High School is one of four schools in California that still uses Redskins for its teams’ and mascot names. Since the passage of AB30, a time frame has been set up for schools to select a new mascot; the first step is to choose a name by January 1, 2017.
Mark King, president of adidas Group North America says, “High school social identities are central to the lives of young athletes, so it’s important to create a climate that feels open to everyone who wants to compete.” The company estimates 2,000 of more than 27,000 high schools across the United States use names that “cause concern for many tribal communities.”
