Report: Sexton H.S. Dropping “Big Reds” Nickname
WILX-TV 10 in Lansing is reporting on Thursday morning that the Lansing School District has decided to drop the longtime nickname at Lansing Sexton High School for its athletic teams, the "Big Reds".
The school district will begin immediately to find a new nickname and school mascot for the venerable westside high school, which they hope to have in place by the start of the 2023-24 school year.
The Lansing School District is receiving a grant of $87,500 from the Native American Heritage Fund to help them find a new nickname and mascot. Many Native Americans and associated groups find nicknames like "Big Reds" offensive to them.
In recent years more and more teams have moved away from Native American nicknames. In the pros, Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians changed their nickname to the "Guardians" after the 2021 baseball season. The National Football League's Washington Redskins dropped the Redskins name after the 2019 season, and were known as the "Washington Football Team" for the 2020 & 2021 NFL seasons before renaming the team the "Commanders" for this upcoming 2022 season.
Lansing School District superintendent Ben Shuldiner told Channel 10 this:
“This will be a complete reboot of the Sexton brand, this is a very exciting opportunity to include our school district family and come together to create something really terrific we all will be proud of in the future.”
Former Sexton football coach and current school principal Dan Boggan said this:
“Sexton is ready for a change, we have an aggressive rebranding schedule, and we plan to have a complete new Sexton look in place in 2023.”
While the school district didn't officially confirm a timetable, judging by Boggan's comments, it sounds like the school will be known as the "Big Reds" for the upcoming 2022-23 school year. And then get a new nickname and mascot for the following year.