Date: Thu 31-Oct-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: TOMW

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

Goatsucker-Mascot

Full Text:

Goatsuckers Controversy - Mascot

BY T.WYATT

Only two shorts months after adopting the Nighthawk as its new nickname,

having done away with the controversial Indian mascot at the end of the last

school year, Newtown High School is again at odds over the issue.

Controversy, this time, surrounds warm-up shirts printed by varsity boys'

soccer coach Larry Ashmore, for his team, that read " Goatsuckers " across the

front. The back reads " As hard as I can; As smart as I can; As long as I have

to. "

Problems arose when NHS principal Bill Manfredonia instructed Mr Ashmore not

to allow his team to wear the warm up shirts, and Ashmore refused. Since then,

players have received in-school detentions for wearing the shirts and, most

recently, Mr Ashmore - the dean of conference soccer coaches after 15 years -

has been threatened with removal from that position if he fails to comply with

Mr Manfredonia's wishes.

" I mentioned to Larry that I didn't think the shirts would be appropriate for

him or for the team to wear, " said Manfredonia. " He told me that he would

talk to the team and leave it to the boys. But I was clear to him that those

shirts did nothing to help unify the school around our new mascot. I was

hoping that this would have been resolved quietly, and it wasn't. "

" Bill told me to tell the kids that they could not wear the shirts, and I

felt that that wasn't my right, " Ashmore said. " I never told them that they

had to wear the shirts, so it wasn't up to me to tell them that they couldn't

wear the shirts. They were informed of Bill's concerns and I told them to

search their own consciences, discuss the matter with their parents, and make

their own decisions. They decided to wear them. "

Mr Manfredonia voiced his concerns over the issue back in early September when

the shirts first appeared. After several discussions with different players on

the team, and no result, detentions were handed down.

" From what I understand, they searched classrooms and pulled kids off busses,

" Ashmore said. " They spent a lot of time and money to catch the players

wearing their goatsucker shirts. "

Mr Ashmore spends his summers in the mountains of Montana and comes back each

fall with some type of slogan for his team to rally around. The last one; " No

Excuses, No Regrets, " was worn on warm-up shirts before this year's model

arrived. " I'm a birder, " Ashmore explained, " so I know about birds. The

nighthawk is a member of the goatsucker family. I thought that it was a little

different take on it and that I would put it on the shirts to put a little

more focus on us. I figured it would be something that the kids could rally

around. I don't see where there's anything negative about it, whatsoever.

" My players tell me that not a single student or teacher has told them that

the shirts are inappropriate or disruptive in any way. Not a single student or

teacher has said anything to me about it, either. In fact, I've had several

teachers and well over 100 students tell me that they'd like to buy a shirt. "

Despite Mr Ashmore's claims, Mr Manfredonia insists that the shirts make a

mockery of the school's new nickname and are divisive.

" If teams want to do something to enhance Newtown High School, I'll accept

that happily, " Manfredonia said. " But when you do something controversial,

no. I find the shirts to be offensive and demeaning as far as school unity and

school pride. The soccer team represents our school and they should be showing

pride and unity instead of poking some kind of fun. "

In his public address to the school body, last February, when he made the

announcement that the Indian would no longer be the Newtown High mascot, Mr

Manfredonia stated that the school mascot should be fun and serve to unite the

students. New mascot ideas were fielded and the Nighthawk was then voted in.

" I'm a bird watcher and when I heard that we were going to be the Nighthawks

I immediately thought about goatsuckers and thought that it was pretty funny,

" said NHS junior Rob Anders, a member of the soccer team. " In no way shape

or form do I think that the goatsuckers shirts are negative. It brings our

team together more than anything else and I don't think its fair that we are

forbidden to wear them. "

" Nobody on the team thought anything negative about the shirts until Mr

Manfredonia started calling our parents about it, " said Todd Burns, one of

the team captains. " As far as I'm concerned I don't think its negative and I

don't think its that big of a deal. But I'm not wearing mine to school now. "

Coach Ashmore, after serving detentions with his team members last week,

counseled the boys that, now that there would be consequences, it was probably

in their best interest not to wear the shirts anymore. " Some of them wear

them to school, now, underneath other shirts, " he said. " They still have

them, they still want to wear them, and they still identify and like the idea

of being goatsuckers, but obviously they don't want to get a detention every

time. "

The issue, it seems, is now on the way out, but Mr Ashmore has been in contact

with a local attorney regarding a letter that has been put into his file and

sent to the board of education by Manfredonia. The letter states that his

failure to take control of the situation " has been detrimental to the best

interest of the school, your players and their parents. " The letter also

warned Ashmore that any shirts referring to goatsuckers are not to be worn at

school, soccer games, or any school functions without disciplinary actions

being taken. " The issue of wearing these shirts, or any shirts that relate to

'goatsuckers' as well as the bigger issue of any alleged 'myths' or 'legends'

regarding Nightawks will stop immediately. "

Ashmore, upset with the comments that his actions have been detrimental, made

copies of the letter and passed it out to his team to be shared with their

parents. Mr Manfredonia could not comment on the letter because it was a

personnel issue.

" I personally felt that Larry was just trying to separate some identity for

the soccer team, " said Paul Gossling, the father of freshman Brian Gossling.

" I didn't particularly think that it was a mock against the Nighthawks, but

more to give the kids an identity to rally around. I don't think that its

negative, but we've empowered it to be that way now. I think we've given it

much more power than it deserves. Brian can wear the shirt around the house if

he wants to, but if the school feels that strongly about it then I don't want

him to wear it to school anymore. "

Said Debbie Burns, mother of tri-captain Todd Burns, " My first reaction when

I saw the shirt was, `what the heck is that?' But after Todd explained to me

what Larry's intentions were, as he presented them to the boys, I thought it

was fine. I was for it. I can certainly understand both sides of the issue,

and I don't have a problem with Todd wearing the shirt, but I think the

parents and the students should be supporting the Nighthawk mascot. "

Another women, who wished to remain annonymous, supported Mr Manfredonia's

side. "I understand what goatsuckers is supposed to mean but it sounds like

something they'd wear in Bridgeport," she said. "We pay a lot of taxes to live

in Newtown and I don't think something like that belongs here. They hired Mr

Manfredonia as principal for a reason and I think they should respect his

wishes no matter how harmless they think the whole thing is."

As far as the student body, aside from members of the soccer team, girls'

soccer coach Kim Berglund says she hasn't heard any complaints from students

or staff members. " The students think its a riot, " she said. " You know,

they'd probably make a lot of money if they sold bumper stickers. "

NHS head football coach and athletic director, Bob Zito, like most, thinks

that too much is being made of the whole issue.

" Mr Manfredonia just doesn't want to see the new mascot made a mockery of, "

Zito said. " Every team has its own little slogans - we have them too - and I

know how it can bring a team together. Is it as offensive as using the name

Indians? I don't know. There are some terrible shirts being worn around

school, a lot worse than that. "

Concluded Zito, " I think more time should be spent taking care of drugs in

school and things of that nature. I know some time is being spent there, but I

think that all the time should be spent there. Not on something like this. I

don't think people really care what you call your mascot. "