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Yahoo
11 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
12 of the most unique Michigan high school mascots
The wildcats. The panthers. The eagles. Dozens of high school teams are named for those iconic animals. But what about the Doughboys, the Chix or the Nimrods? With hundreds of schools across Michigan, some school leaders saw an opportunity for creativity. So we've compiled some of the most unique school nicknames across the state. You can find a full list from the Michigan High School Athletic Association here. A spoiler: Many Michigan high schools get their athletic nicknames from wartime or, in a uniquely Michigan fashion, from automotive themes. The high school adopted the gremlins name in 1948, changing from their previous mascot, the Orange, according to the Keweenaw Community Foundation. The name was suggested by a principal who had served as a pilot in World War I, interested in stories about "gremlins" harassing pilots in World War II. Pilots in the war jokingly blamed problems in the air on mischievous gremlins. A dreadnought (spelled differently than the mascot, for a reason that is not apparent) is a type of battleship, according to Brittanica. Dexter's school nickname, like Houghton's, likely comes from wartime, too, according to Dexter's The Sun Times News, following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Doughboy was once a nickname for Gen. John Pershing's troops in World War I; therein lies the origin of Pershing High's mascot, according to The National World War I Museum and Memorial. Pershing opened in 1930, named after the general. Railsplitter was once a nickname for Abraham Lincoln on the campaign trail, according to Dickinson University. The town's history as the "chick capital" of the Midwest, as well as its history as a town for duck hatcheries, explains the town's high school mascots, according to the Holland Sentinel. While Nimrod can be slang for "idiot," the name also has biblical roots, where a nimrod was a "mighty hunter" in the Old Testament, according to a state news release celebrating Watersmeet High's unique nickname. ESPN once named the Nimrods the third best high school sports nickname. A marauder is traditionally known as someone who raids and plunders from place to place, according to Merriam-Webster. While it's unclear why the high school bears the Marauder name, the mascot has been in place since 1967. According to the city of Mount Clemens, it was the mineral bath industry that made the city a destination for health spas and likely where the school gets its nickname. Mount Clemens has since ceased using the battling bathers mascot, but it lives on as a historical image. A flivver is a nickname for the Model T, Ford's universal automobile. According to the Michigan High School Athletic Association, Kingsford has had the Flivver as a mascot since the early 1930s, when there was a Ford plant in the area. The leader of an iron mining company in the area near the town of Gwinn decided the town should be a model town for miners to live in, eventually leading to the high school's unusual nickname, according to the Gwinn Chamber of Commerce. Hematite is an iron-oxide mineral, according to the Virtual Museum of Minerals and Molecules. Ishpeming is a mining town, which is where the nickname for the school came from, according to Sports Illustrated coverage of its 2012 high school football season. The high school's name came from Henry Ford, who developed the Fordson tractor for farmers. The tractor became Fordson's mascot, one of the most unique in the state. Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 12 of the most unique Michigan high school mascots
Fox News
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Michigan votes to urge ban on trans athletes against girls; Dems get backlash from LGBTQ+ advocates
The Michigan House of Representatives voted on a resolution to urge the Michigan High School Athletic Association to follow President Donald Trump's executive order and ban transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports. "Allowing biological males to compete in women's sports in defiance of a federal executive order could put female athletes in Michigan at risk for injury, threatens the safety and fairness of competitions and undermines the intent of Title IX," the resolution read, via the Detroit Free Press. Sixty-six people voted in favor of the resolution as opposed to 43 nays; eight of the yays were Democrats, who have been criticized by LGBTQ+ advocates. "The shift in how Democrats are positioning themselves on issues concerning trans rights is troubling," said Equality Michigan executive director Erin Knott on Thursday. "It's time to act decisively to take a firm stand and to make it clear we will fight to protect the LGBTQ+ community no matter what, and unfortunately we're not seeing that same vigor that we did even just last year." "We all want sports to be fair, and student athletes to be safe," Knott added. "That's why the MHSAA already has rules about who can participate in different sports at different levels across a range of issues. They already have a process in place and are experts when it comes to sports in schools. They don't need politicians in Lansing to override their expertise with a one-size-fits-all blanket ban." Added Jerron Totten, who runs the party's LGBT & Allies Caucus, "There are so many other issues that are more pressing, more concerning, more alarming than trans kids playing sports. And I think we as voters are looking for legislators that will address those issues and not scapegoat marginalized communities." "The Democratic Party chose a different way than what we normally would think they would," said Jeffrey Pienela, the president of Muskegon Pride, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization. "It's surprising. It's almost like, who has your back when neither party does?" One Democrat, Rep. Emily Dievendorf, spoke as to why she had voted for the resolution. "I want you to think about what it means to be a kid. Figuring out who you are trying to find a place to belong. Learning confidence through the support of your peers and mentors. . . . Now imagine, instead being told by adults, by your own government that you are the problem. That playing sports, making friends and being yourself is wrong. That the community meant to support you, instead, is determined to erase you. "I know what it is to be a queer kid, and it is lonely. I know what it is to be our nonbinary legislator, and it is isolating and dehumanizing. This resolution isn't about fairness. It isn't about protecting women's sports. This isn't about safety, because there is no threat. There is no threat." However, Rep. Alabas Farhat, a Democrat who went against the majority of her party in the vote, offered an alternative. "We want to make sure there's a fair environment . . . to compete in. And I'll just be honest, that's where it comes from for me. Folks in my district, definitely, I think, agree with that sentiment. . . ." Rep. Alabas Farhat said. "I would prefer us prioritizing conversations around affordability, around housing. I would prefer those conversations to be at the forefront instead of resolutions like this. But you know, again, for me, it's an issue of fairness and my district has very strong opinions on this stuff." The Department of Education has launched Title IX investigations against three states - California, Minnesota, and Maine - for not adhering to the order. The USDA stopped federal funding to Maine as a result, which Trump threatened. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
CBS News
07-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Michigan Republicans call on MHSAA to change policy on transgender athletes
In a press conference on Thursday, Michigan Republican lawmakers called on the Michigan High School Athletic Association to change its policy and comply with federal directives that prohibit transgender females from participating in women's sports. The executive order, titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," was signed by President Trump in early February. Those who do not comply could lose federal funding. The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit athletic body comprised of more than 1,500 public and private high schools and junior or middle schools. The organization is not supported by tax dollars or government funding. In a letter to the MHSAA sent earlier this week, Republican Michigan Sen. Joseph Bellino wrote, "Every girl deserves a fair opportunity to compete, and every parent deserves to know their kids are being protected." Currently, the MHSAA has a policy allowing transgender girls to participate on girls teams through a waiver process. There isn't a waiver process to allow transgender boys to play on boys teams. "A lot of the information is generally how a student is identified on official documents," said Geoff Kimmerly, director of communications for the MHSAA. "We look at those student-by-student because every student's details are certainly specific, and a decision is made from there." Kimmerly said that in the last five or six years, the MHSAA has only had two such waivers and has not received a waiver for the 2024-25 winter season or 2025 spring season. Out of the more than 170,000 high school athletes in Michigan, Kimmerly says, "it's a very small percentage." However, Republican lawmakers are urging the association to comply with the executive orders from the Trump administration. "To me, it's fascinating that they're not compiling quicker," said Republican Michigan Rep. Jason Woolford. "What's important to me is the 112,000 female athletes that are in the state of Michigan that are playing." Kimmerly said the MHSAA is happy to comply with whatever the law states, but for the moment that's still being decided. Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act," he said. "There are some conflicts between the two, and we've just been waiting for those to be sorted out."
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP lawmakers urge MHSAA to ban transgender girls from female sports teams in Michigan
State Sen. Joseph Bellino (R-Monroe), flanked by other GOP lawmakers, speaks at a press conference to pressure the MHSAA to alter its transgender sports participation policy to align with President Trump's executive orders. March 6, 2025. Screenshot Republican lawmakers in Michigan this week called on the Michigan High School Athletic Association to adopt policies that comply with President Donald Trump's executive order to no longer allow athletes who are trangender girls on female sports teams. State Sen. Joseph Bellino (R-Monroe) proudly held up his daughter's 1st Place Big Ten medal in track and field at a news conference on Thursday rattling off the bouquet of athletic awards his family has across three daughters, saying that had his daughters had had to compete against 'biological male' participants, his daughters might not have had the same opportunities to succeed. 'Fair competition is important to protect opportunities for girls and ensure a level playing field,' Bellino said, joined by several other lawmakers. At the news conference, Bellino reviewed a letter he sent to the MHSAA, requesting that they adopt the policies in Trump's February 5 Executive Order titled 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports'. The order states that educational programs that fail to bar transgender girls from girls sports will risk losing federal funding. 'In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women's sports,' the order reads. 'This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.' The MHSAA has a policy allowing transgender girls to play sports on girls teams on a case by case basis with a waiver, with the association's spokesperson Geoff Kimmerly telling media that the organization is reviewing how the executive order would operate under Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act which bans discrimination on the basis of gender identity. The number of high school students that inquire about or utilize the waiver are very few, with the MHSAA previously telling the state legislature there are typically two inquiries each year out of about 180,000 athletes, while the organization is currently reporting that just two athletes utilize the policy statewide. Recent 'anti-trans' executive orders and state actions to create limitations on trans citizens manufacture a solution for want of a problem, Jay Kaplan, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan wrote in February. 'The message this sends to all trans youth is you don't belong,' Kaplan said. 'There are a lot of bullies trying to pass bad laws and implement harmful policies affecting trans people. These laws and policies are a distraction to the real issues facing the American people, and the inability of these politicians to come up with real solutions to real problems.' MHSAA needs to 'get over itself' and fall in line with those who welcome the executive order, Michigan Senate Minority Leader and Republican candidate for governor Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp.) said. The National Collegiate Athletic Association changed its policy in women's sports limiting competition to 'student-athletes assigned female at birth only', while allowing 'student-athletes assigned male at birth' to participate in practices. Nesbitt, a vocal supporter of Trump during campaign visits last year said the country spoke on Election Day, including the people of Michigan, in putting Trump back in office to end 'woke nonsense'. 'Sometimes it's good just to let boys be boys and girls be girls. Let kids be kids. Don't let these adults plow their ideology into our children,' Nesbitt said 'Our girls deserve a fair and level playing field, not a system that sacrifices their safety and opportunities to oppose to appease those to deny reality.' Though Trump's executive orders will be challenged by courts and they may find they 'aren't worth the paper they are printed on', Kaplan acknowledged that the orders still may have a discouraging effect. After all, the intention, Kaplan said, is to 'demonize difference'. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
