Maybe If They Chose A Good Looking Arab....

California high school under fire over 'Arab' mascot

The Desert Sun: Marilyn Chung

​In this 2005 photo, Coachella Valley High School's mascot, "Arab," dances to the band during a pep rally at the school in Thermal, Calif. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is calling on the Southern California high school to get rid of its longstanding mascot, which it deems offensive.

1 day ago  By Alex Dobuzinskis of Reuters

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A California high school's sports teams are dubbed the "Arabs," which the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee complained plays on stereotypes.

LOS ANGELES - A California high school's decades-old use of an Arab mascot to promote its sports teams has drawn the ire of an Arab-American rights group that says the mascot is an offensive caricature, portraying Arabs with a large nose, beard and head-covering.

Related: Coverage from mydesert.com

Coachella Valley High School sports teams are dubbed the "Arabs," which the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee complained in a letter to the school this month plays on harmful stereotypes.

The group, whose leaders say they are not aware of another U.S. school with the nickname Arab, also cited as offensive the school's logo of an Arab, which it said was displayed in the middle of the basketball court and elsewhere at the school.

"It's a very stereotypical logo of Arabs, it has the angry-looking Arab with the hook nose and the beard," said Abed Ayoub, director of legal and policy affairs for the group.

The controversy over the Arab mascot comes as the use of ethnic team names and mascots has gained new prominence with a campaign this year to pressure the National Football League's Washington Redskins to change their name. American Indians and others have long pilloried the Redskins moniker as racist.

At the Coachella school's sporting events, a person in an oversized mask dances and entertains the crowd as the mascot.