This is not Sparta.
A Long Island school district is being sued over claims its new mascot, a Spartan, is “a symbol of white supremacy.”
William King Moss III, a parent and Suffolk County NAACP leader, says the Brentwood Unified School District’s decision to swap its old, banned, Native American mascot with an ancient Greek warrior is offensive to women and people of color.
“This symbol sends the message that enslaving indigenous people and excluding women from the military are acceptable,” said Moss, who has two girls enrolled in the district, to The Post.
Moss, who filed the suit this month and is representing himself, argues that Brentwood’s new mascot not only violates civil-rights and state constitutional protections — but also sends the wrong message to students such his daughters.
He believes that depictions of Spartans as mascots are “racially problematic” and a “symbol of white supremacy,” according to the court filing — an assertion that angered Long Island’s Greek community.
“That person is ignorant. Sparta was more progressive than he knows,” said a Greek pastor, who asked to remain anonymous, to The Post about Moss and Greece’s history.
The pastor explained that while there is some truth to his claims — Spartans did enslave entire populations and excluded women from military service — he argued the comparison to white supremacy has no merit.
The pastor explained that Spartans did not enslave people based on race and instead captured mainly other Greeks who were conquered in war and forced them into servitude.
He also outlined that while women weren’t part of the military, Spartan females actually had more rights than most others in the ancient world — including access to education and owning property — which was not generally allowed in this time period.
“I think he just threw it out there, there is really no basis to it,” the pastor said of Moss’s complaints.
Moss does have a longstanding beef with the district — having filed several other federal and state cases against Brentwood over the years.
His past legal actions include one case that was dismissed, in which Moss accused the district of discriminating against him as an employee, court records show.
Jordan Phillips, a 16-year-old student at neighboring Bay Shore High School, told The Post he thinks the anger surrounding the Spartans is “dumb.
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“That is not what Spartans represent or what I think of when I see Spartans,” Phillips said. “There is history there, they were warriors, and that is what they are known for being.”
In accordance with state law, Brentwood and 12 other Long Island districts had to get rid of their Native American mascots by June 30 or lose state aid. The district announced it would go from the Indians to the Spartans in April 2024 after a student-faculty vote chose the new mascot.
The change will cost the district more than $400,000, according to estimates by former Superintendent Richard Loeschner in 2023.
“You have to do the right thing,” Loeschner said at the time despite the cost.
As of now, Brentwood’s sports gear has no depictions of Spartans, with the change set to go into effect next school year pending the outcome of Moss’ case.
The district declined to comment on the lawsuit.
