VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Liverpool Central School District name change
Brennan Finder: At the Liverpool Central School District board meeting on Wednesday, the board accepted a committee recommendation to change their nickname from the Warriors to the Legends. Interim Superintendent Doug Lawrence is proud of how many individuals contributed to the name change process.
Doug Lawrence: Community members, alumni, parents, some students and staff members who all really joined together in ripping this apart every which way I think we possibly could.
Finder: The new name removes any connections to Native Americans, an action that Liverpool Central grandparent Sean Frawley supports.
Sean Frawley: I didn’t realize it had to do with you know American Indians, but if that’s the case, then I wouldn’t want to offend anybody. And legends, I think is a nice name.
Finder: The change stems from a 2023 law passed by the New York State Board of Regents that banned Indigenous team names for all public schools. As a result, over 100 schools in the state of New York have been forced to phase out old names and logos. President of the Liverpool Central Board Nick Blaney says the law forced their hand.
Nick Blaney: I can’t say for certain, but I do not think there would be the impetus to move if it wasn’t for the state’s guidance.
Finder: The school district already changed their Warriors logo in 2004 from a Native American to a Roman soldier. Blaney believed that move was sufficient on its own.
Blaney: We felt that we made the change back before we were even told that we needed to do it…so now to be told we have to change the name feels like extra work.
Finder: Some community members like Tom Batovsky are upset that the old name will have to go away.
Tom Batovsky: The Warriors to me doesn’t indicate any kind of damage to an Indigenous people…To me it’s extortion. The state says if you don’t change the name, you’re going to lose money.
Finder: According to the New York State Board of Regents, districts that don’t comply with the law may have school officers removed or state aid withheld as a last resort. All changes must go into effect by the end of this academic year. Brennan Finder, NCC News
LIVERPOOL, N.Y. — At the Liverpool Central School District board meeting on Wednesday, the board accepted a committee recommendation to change their name from the Warriors to the Legends.
Interim Superintendent Doug Lawrence is proud of how many individuals contributed to the name change process.
“Community members, alumni, parents, some students and staff members who all really joined together in ripping this apart every which way I think we possibly could,” Lawrence said.
The new name removes any connections to Native Americans, an action that Liverpool Central grandparent Sean Frawley supports.
“I didn’t realize it had to do with, you know, American Indians, but if that’s the case, then I wouldn’t want to offend anybody. And Legends, I think is a nice name,” Frawley said.
The change stems from a 2023 law passed by the New York State Board of Regents that banned Indigenous team names for all public schools. As a result, over 100 schools in the state of New York have been forced to phase out old names and logos.
President of the Liverpool Central School Board Nick Blaney says the law forced their hand.
“I can’t say for certain, but I do not think there would be the impetus to move if it wasn’t for the state’s guidance,” Blaney said.
The school district already changed its Warriors logo in 2004 from a Native American to a Roman soldier. Blaney believed that move was sufficient on its own.
“We felt that we made the change back before we were even told that we needed to do it,” he said. “So now to be told we have to change the name feels like extra work.”
Some community members like Tom Batovsky are upset that the old name will have to go away.
“The Warriors to me doesn’t indicate any kind of damage to any Indigenous people,” Batovsky said. “To me it’s extortion. The state says ‘if you don’t change the name, you’re going to lose money.’”
According to the New York State Board of Regents, districts that don’t comply with the law may have school officers removed or state aid withheld as a last resort. All changes must go into effect by the end of this academic year.