Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fresno High's New Warrior Mascot Is a Building
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 4 years ago on
May 12, 2021

Share

The new Fresno High mascot logo was unveiled Wednesday morning as school and district officials cheered and protesters jeered.

When the purple curtain covering a white board in front of Royce Hall was lifted, observers saw that the new logo is a line drawing of Royce Hall — the oldest building on the city’s oldest high school campus.

The new Fresno High mascot logo is unveiled Wednesday. (GV Wire photo/Nancy Price)

But just how soon that logo will be adorning more than the T-shirts and ballcaps handed out to dignitaries at Wednesday’s unveiling is anybody’s guess. Principal Linda Laettner said the school will present a budget request for the logo replacement to the School Board next week.

The district said in a preliminary report that the cost to replace the Native American Warrior logo would be at least $400,000, and could go higher. In addition to replacing stationery, signage, uniforms, and other paraphernalia, the school will be removing old Warrior images that are carved in granite, Laettner said.

Wednesday’s School Board meeting, which will be held at Gaston Middle School, includes a proposed budget change in the unrestricted general fund of $456,000 for the logo change. The budget category is “books and supplies.”

Students Designed, Voted on Options

Fresno High students designed logo options, and an advisory panel of students, staff, alumni, and community members weighed in on the options and chose the final three, Laettner said. Fresno High’s students then voted on their top choice.

“When voting was complete, we had two images that were separated by two votes. Both images represented the strength and history that is Fresno High and our Warrior community, so we decided to incorporate both,” she said prior to the unveiling. “This morning we will unveil our new Warrior logo, along with the second image that will serve as a complementary athletic image.”

The Royce Hall image will be the primary mascot logo, and the letter F will be the secondary logo and used on uniforms, she said.

Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson recounted the history of the social media campaigns that erupted nearly two years ago around changing or keeping the mascot image and noted that the issue had created friction in the community.

Opponents said the image of a Native American man wearing a feathered headdress was racist and needed to be replaced. Supporters said the mascot was a beloved part of Fresno High tradition.

Native Americans weighed in on both sides of the issue. Some said the image was a caricature that did not honor their people and history, while others said that eliminating the image of Native Americans as sports team mascots is also disrespectful because it erases them from popular culture.

“As exciting as today is for so many of us, including our students who helped design and ultimately select this new logo, it’s also been an uncomfortable and complicated process, which we would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge that publicly today,” Nelson said.

The School Board voted Dec. 9 to retire the former logo after a series of town hall meetings, focus groups, and surveys over many months.

Keeping Tradition

Kelly Rector, a Fresno High alum who supports keeping the old Warrior logo, said she doesn’t understand why some people consider the image derogatory or racist. “It stands for pride and braveness,” she said Wednesday morning. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

As she was being interviewed by GV Wire in the concourse area in front of Royce Hall, she was shooed off the school property by vice principal Vince Salazar. “You’re supposed to be outside the gate,” he told Rector, who responded that she hadn’t been aware.

Rector joined other placard-bearing protesters on the street side of the iron gates that mark the entrance to the Fresno High campus. Their shouts during the short unveiling ceremony at times nearly overpowered the speeches being amplified by the public address system.

The speakers included Fresno High Area Trustee Carol Mills, whose brief speech was delivered through a computer-generated voice as she sat in a green wheelchair. Mills acknowledged at the last School Board meeting that she has an as-yet unrevealed disability.

“The new Fresno High School logo honors Fresno High School’s history while respecting its diversity and modern sensibilities,” Mills said. “I would hope everyone, including all the alumni, will join me in embracing this new logo selected by the students who are our future alumni.”

Trustee Carol Mills, at center, and Superintendent Bob Nelson, at right, at the Fresno High mascot image unveiling on Wednesday. (GV Wire/

Nelson said later that the new logo is similar in style to the Golden State Warriors logo of the Bay Bridge. The logo for the team, which moved to San Francisco from Philadelphia, was originally a cartoon Native American figure.

Lawsuit Continues

Wednesday’s unveiling will not put a damper on a lawsuit by Fresno High alums and other supporters of the old mascot, attorney Ryan Griffith told GV Wire.

The lawsuit contends that the School Board and district violated the Brown Act during its deliberations and vote on changing the mascot image, including noting on the Dec. 9 School Board meeting agenda that there would be no financial impact. The Brown Act establishes rules for public agency meetings.

The lawsuit’s first hearing in Fresno County Superior Court is scheduled for June 30, Griffith said.

In the meantime, “I will be in contact with FUSD’s outside attorney Peter Denno to make sure no public funds are being spent to change any of the numerous logos across the campus before our litigation is complete,”  he said in an email to GV Wire. “If FUSD plans to spend public funds and make material changes before our litigation is complete then a TRO (temporary restraining order) may be necessary. However, it is my hope that this matter can be heard in a timely and efficient matter without the need to hear the issue on shortened time.”

About a dozen people gathered Wednesday outside the Fresno High front gate to protest the mascot change. (GV Wire/Nancy Price)

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Man Faces Life in Prison After Conviction for 2019 Visalia Murder

DON'T MISS

What Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Could Mean for Americans: Fareed Zakaria

DON'T MISS

A Look at Fresno City College’s New $87 Million Science Building

DON'T MISS

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

DON'T MISS

‘Trump Slump’ Looms as Foreign Visitors Rethink Travel to US

DON'T MISS

White House Weighs Helping Farmers as Trump Escalates Trade War

DON'T MISS

Torpedo-Shaped Bats Draw Attention After Yankees Hit Team-Record 9 Homers

DON'T MISS

Silver Fire Grows to 1,250 Acres, Threatens Homes in Inyo County

DON'T MISS

3 Kids Killed in Michigan When Tree Hits Vehicle During Weekend Storm

DON'T MISS

March Madness Guide: All No. 1 Seeds in Final Four After Houston and Auburn Win

UP NEXT

A Look at Fresno City College’s New $87 Million Science Building

UP NEXT

Central Unified Takes Additional Steps To Protect Undocumented Students

UP NEXT

Dueling Protests Clash at Fresno Tesla Dealership

UP NEXT

Top Vaccine Official Resigns From FDA, Criticizes RFK Jr. for Promoting Misinformation, Lies

UP NEXT

St. Agnes’ Newest Robot Promises Less Invasive Surgeries, Faster Recoveries

UP NEXT

Utah Becomes the First State to Ban Fluoride in Public Drinking Water

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified Faces Teacher Uproar Over Slashing Designated Schools

UP NEXT

Wilmer Flores’ 3-Run Homer in the 9th Inning Propels Giants to Victory Over Reds

UP NEXT

Look Inside the New Madera County Foodbank, a Lifeline for Thousands

UP NEXT

Judge Rules for Defendants FUSD, Harris in Epic Lease-Leaseback Lawsuit

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

1 hour ago

‘Trump Slump’ Looms as Foreign Visitors Rethink Travel to US

1 hour ago

White House Weighs Helping Farmers as Trump Escalates Trade War

1 hour ago

Torpedo-Shaped Bats Draw Attention After Yankees Hit Team-Record 9 Homers

2 hours ago

Silver Fire Grows to 1,250 Acres, Threatens Homes in Inyo County

2 hours ago

3 Kids Killed in Michigan When Tree Hits Vehicle During Weekend Storm

2 hours ago

March Madness Guide: All No. 1 Seeds in Final Four After Houston and Auburn Win

2 hours ago

Trump Family Pushes Further Into Crypto, Starting Another Venture

3 hours ago

Justice Department Instructed to Dismiss Legal Challenge to Georgia Election Law

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest 12 for DUI, Plan More Enforcement Operations

3 hours ago

Man Faces Life in Prison After Conviction for 2019 Visalia Murder

A Tulare County jury on Friday convicted a 25-year-old man of second-degree murder for the fatal stabbing of another man during a fight at a...

24 minutes ago

A Tulare County jury convicted Isaiah Elias Garcia, 25, on Friday, March 28, 2025, of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing a man during a 2019 fight in Visalia. (Tulare County DA)
24 minutes ago

Man Faces Life in Prison After Conviction for 2019 Visalia Murder

Michael Froman discusses the potential impact of Trump's proposed "Liberation Day" tariffs in an interview with Fareed Zakaria. (Video Screenshot)
27 minutes ago

What Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Could Mean for Americans: Fareed Zakaria

Fresno City College students at the new Science Building
1 hour ago

A Look at Fresno City College’s New $87 Million Science Building

1 hour ago

California Gov. Newsom Says the Democratic Brand Is ‘Toxic’

A view of downtown San Diego, July 13, 2024. California is among the U.S. destinations that are ramping up marketing efforts to reassure international tourists that they are welcome. (John Francis Peters/The New York Times)
1 hour ago

‘Trump Slump’ Looms as Foreign Visitors Rethink Travel to US

Soybeans are harvested near Stuttgart, Ark., Oct. 25, 2023. The Trump administration has discussed providing financial aid for farmers who may be subject to retaliation by America’s trading partners. (Rory Doyle/The New York Times)
1 hour ago

White House Weighs Helping Farmers as Trump Escalates Trade War

New York Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. prepares to bat during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in New York. (AP/Pamela Smith)
2 hours ago

Torpedo-Shaped Bats Draw Attention After Yankees Hit Team-Record 9 Homers

The Silver Fire has burned 1,250 acres near Bishop with 0% containment, prompting evacuations as strong winds hamper firefighting efforts. (CalFire)
2 hours ago

Silver Fire Grows to 1,250 Acres, Threatens Homes in Inyo County

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend