A decision to remove the word “fighting” from the football stadium at Petoskey High School has some parents up in arms. A slogan over Curtis Field used to say “home of the fighting Northmen” but the word “fighting” was painted over this weekend.
School officials did not respond to a request for comment for this story but School Board President Kathy Reed told the Petoskey News-Review the word was removed because it could be considered offensive to Native American students. The school’s logo is the face of a Native American man with two feathers in his hair.
Brian Kay is a football parent who started a Facebook page called “Keep Fighting On Our Field.”
“The word ‘fighting’ has so many different meanings," says Kay. "Fighting to win the football game, keeping up the good fight. I do not understand how the word ‘fighting’ could be derogatory to anybody.”
A Move On.org petition to put “fighting” back on the stadium has nearly 3,000 signatures.