McAdory High and Pinson Valley faced off in a second round football playoff game Friday night — a game that featured a thoughtless and very insensitive run-through banner. Pinson Valley’s mascot is the Indians, which means whoever was in charge of the banner’s message apparently thought a reference to the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was an appropriate way to go about mocking an opponent.
A weekend’s worth of negative reactions led McAdory to finally issue an apology on Monday morning, noting that the person normally in charge of approving banner messages was on leave:
On 11/15/2013 at a football game at McAdory High School, a sign was displayed that made reference to the “Trail of Tears” in which Native Americans were subjected to horrific atrocities. This was not condoned by the school administration, the Jefferson County Board of Education or the community. The person who would normally be responsible for approving such signs is out on maternity leave, and I take full responsibility that arrangements were not made to have the signs pre-approved before the ballgame. Please accept our sincere apologies to the Native American people and to anyone who was offended by the reference to an event that is a stain on our nation’s past forever.
In response to the “bust thru” sign used by McAdory High School during the Round 2 State Play-Off game versus Pinson Valley High School, all social studies and history teachers will re-teach and/or review units concerning Native American displacement following the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
[BuzzFeed]
