LANSING, Mich. — J.W. Sexton High School senior Jospeh Kyle is a fan of his school’s new mascot logo.
“We knew we had to get rid of the old mascot, and we found something in the school that most people actually like,” Kyle said.
The district decided to change the old mascot, Big Reds, because some found it offensive to the Native American culture, but finding a new one has been a bumpy road.
The community voted for J-Dubbs to be the new mascot, but the Lansing School District Board of Education went against the popular vote and chose a different mascot, Scorpions.
After some backlash, the board ultimately decided to go with J-Dubbs.
“It was a lot of pressure and it was a lot of stress, so with us getting the final decision, it relieved some of that stress,” Kyle said.
But now, some of the stress is back.
The mascot logo features a south African Boerboel. The school received nearly $90,000 to start the rebranding process.
But then, a photo of the logo began making its rounds on social media comparing the new logo to the Red Dog Premium beer logo.
One user said “they did us wrong” and another said “should have gone with the viking option."
J.W. Sexton High School alum Kobe Rochester weighed in on the reaction to the logo.
“You gotta act a little older than what you are acting,” Rochester said. “We’re all mature, especially if alumni comments on it, you have to stop. You have to respect what our current administration is doing.”
We took the online comments back to the district.
“Social media it’s just that, but people have free will to say what they would like to say,” said Assistant Principal Jami Scott.”But I would say look into the facts, the facts are it's students choice.”
