"It's important to create a climate that feels open to everyone who wants to compete."
The sports apparel company, which has North American headquarters in Portland, Oregon, will allow schools to volunteer for the program and will provide financial assistance for mascot and nickname changes "to ensure the transition is not cost prohibitive," it said in a release. Schools that want help changing mascots can email Adidas to enroll in the program.
The initiative's launch is timed to coincide with the White House Tribal Nations Conference, which starts Thursday in Washington, D.C., and will include representatives from as many as 567 federally recognized tribes.
"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," Mark King, the president of Adidas North America, said in a statement.
"But the issue is much bigger," the statement continued. "These social identities affect the whole student body and, really, entire communities. In many cities across our nation, the high school and its sports teams take center stage in the community and the mascot and team names become an everyday rallying cry."
As many as 2,000 high schools use Native American mascots and imagery, which tribes and activists have long argued are harmful to communities and students because they perpetuate negative stereotypes. The American Psychological Association and American Sociological Association have both recommended changing such mascots because of the effects they can have on native and non-native students.
Universities and high schools have spent decades weighing the appropriateness of Native American mascots, with many deciding to change them.
That movement has reignited in recent years as activists renewed their fight for Washington's NFL team to change its name and mascot.
More: Adidas To Help High Schools Change Native American Mascots
Thank you Adidas! I can think of a good name for that Washington NFL team.
The sports apparel company, which has North American headquarters in Portland, Oregon, will allow schools to volunteer for the program and will provide financial assistance for mascot and nickname changes "to ensure the transition is not cost prohibitive," it said in a release. Schools that want help changing mascots can email Adidas to enroll in the program.
The initiative's launch is timed to coincide with the White House Tribal Nations Conference, which starts Thursday in Washington, D.C., and will include representatives from as many as 567 federally recognized tribes.
"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," Mark King, the president of Adidas North America, said in a statement.
"But the issue is much bigger," the statement continued. "These social identities affect the whole student body and, really, entire communities. In many cities across our nation, the high school and its sports teams take center stage in the community and the mascot and team names become an everyday rallying cry."
As many as 2,000 high schools use Native American mascots and imagery, which tribes and activists have long argued are harmful to communities and students because they perpetuate negative stereotypes. The American Psychological Association and American Sociological Association have both recommended changing such mascots because of the effects they can have on native and non-native students.
Universities and high schools have spent decades weighing the appropriateness of Native American mascots, with many deciding to change them.
That movement has reignited in recent years as activists renewed their fight for Washington's NFL team to change its name and mascot.
More: Adidas To Help High Schools Change Native American Mascots
Thank you Adidas! I can think of a good name for that Washington NFL team.
