The Massapequa Chiefs are calling on the commander-in-chief for help.
Furious school-board members in the Long Island town are asking President Trump to help them fight to keep their district’s Native American logo after a judge recently ruled against them in their legal battle with the state.
“Changing the name doesn’t have any good effect on our kids. This is their identity, this is who they are — they are Chiefs,” Massapequa School Board President Kerry Wachter told The Post, adding that the district has already issued an SOS to Trump’s Department of Education.
“Perhaps the secretary of education or President Trump might feel that they might have some authority here to step in,” she said.
A judge ruled in late March against Massapequa in its battle with the state Board of Regents, which issued a statewide mandate in 2023 to remove Native American names and imagery from all New York public schools.
The district — whose name, along with the town’s, comes from the local Marsapeague tribe — says the move would not only kill its identity, it also would cost about $1 million in rebranding.
Three fellow Long Island towns were part of the Hail Mary legal action to keep their team names: the Wantagh Warriors, the Wyandanch Warriors and the Connetquot Thunderbirds.
Matt Susco, the president of the Wantagh Preservation Society who has a tattoo of a Native American head in full headdress on his left arm, was outraged over the decision.
“‘Warrior’ is not a name that solely belongs to the Native Americans,” he said.
Susco said he also is hoping Trump or someone in his cabinet will intervene.
“He’s well-aware of Long Island,” Susco said of the president. “He’d come in and help us.”
Wachter said it was “ironic” to see US Chief District Judge Margo Brodie write in court documents that the schools “failed” to prove that their argument fell “within the scope of the First Amendment’s protection.”
The school-board president also said democracy has been benched throughout the two-year ordeal because the Board of Regents, whose members are appointed by the state legislature, “never got into a dialog” with Massapequa.
“It was just an edict that came out of Albany. It’s just something punitive,” Wachter said of the logo ban. “And if we don’t push back here, then where does it end?”
“The vast majority of our residents are 100% behind us in fighting for the Chiefs,” said Wachter, who is fuming over the idea of spending an unnecessary million bucks to change out emblems on schools’ gyms, fields and elsewhere.
She said Massapequa would have happily expanded students’ local Native American education — already taught in fourth grade — by having tribes visit schools. Nods to Massapequa’s Native American legacy are already found all over town, including in a mural painted by students next to the high school.
“Everything is being named for the people who were here before,” she said of the district’s name and logo that shows a non-cartoonish Native American chief in a headdress.
“So how can a team name that goes along with that school district name, with that town name, be derogatory? It’s not,” Wachter said.
‘Pequa Pride
Notable alumni say they are just as flabbergasted and angry to see a large part of their town and school’s history being scrubbed without regard for local context.
Gary Baldinger, an MHS alum who went on to play for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and recently retired from Massapequa’s education board, greatly favors his high-school alma mater staying as the Chiefs.
“It’s just unbelievable that time, effort and money would be spent on a situation like this,” Baldinger said. “Do they feel like students are going to learn better? It’s really just beyond silly.”
Patrick Pizzarelli, director of the local Section VIII public-school athletics who played football for MHS in the 1970s, said, “Being the chief of a tribe is an honor. Being a Massapequa Chief was one of the biggest honors you had in high school.
“In my view point, there’s no negative thoughts with it.”
Joseph Saladino, Oyster Bay’s town supervisor who played hockey for Massapequa as a student, also thinks the idea of banning the Chiefs belongs in the penalty box.
“If anything, this name respects, brings pride and teaches people about the history of Long Island and the indigenous people who were here before,” said Saladino, whose jurisdiction oversees Massapequa.
“It’s an important part of our heritage. Rather than erasing history, we should be talking about the Native people,” he said.
Baldinger and Wachter said the ban can’t stop fans in the stands from still showing their true colors. As it is, residents already love donning “Once a Chief, always a Chief” clothing.
“Those are going to become hot items,” Baldinger said.
“Whether they take [the Chiefs logo] away, it’s not going to change the pride we have in who we are. We’re going to continue as a town, as a community, continue to wear it with as much as possible.”
The White House did not respond to a Post request for comment Monday.
