FREEBURG 鈥 According to legend, the inspiration for Freeburg High School鈥檚 mascot was born of a David-and-Goliath basketball game in 1922.
The Freeburg squad, though small, played mightily. And, the story goes, a sportswriter dubbed the team .
But almost a century later, , a 6,500-member national group representing people born with dwarfism, is demanding that the district change the mascot.
The group is holding its national convention at the Hyatt Regency at the Arch downtown. On Wednesday, representatives from the organization delivered a petition to the Freeburg High School District that described 鈥渕idget鈥 as offensive and called for its removal.
People are also reading…
鈥淭he term 鈥榤idget鈥 dehumanizes and objectifies people of short stature,鈥 the petition asserts.
The form goes on to state that the word was coined in reference to people 鈥渨ho were on public display for curiosity and sport, and the word evolved into a negative connotation.鈥
An had more than 4,200 signatures as of Wednesday night.
鈥淲hen the word 鈥榤idget鈥 is used, we feel we are being devalued,鈥 said Gary Arnold, president of the Little People of America. 鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult to participate when the term is used.鈥
Arnold said that the preferred nomenclature was 鈥渁 person with dwarfism,鈥 鈥渓ittle person鈥 or 鈥減erson of short stature.鈥
鈥淲e understand the word is part of history and some people don鈥檛 mean it to be degrading,鈥 Arnold said. 鈥淣evertheless, whenever it is used, it has a negative affect on the dwarfism community.鈥
Arnold and about 1,500 people at the convention attended a festive awards banquet at the Hyatt Wednesday night.
Freeburg High School District Superintendent Andrew Lehman, 46, said he was expecting the petition.
鈥淚n early June, I got a letter from the group that said they were going to do a petition that would result in making a formal request that the district change the name,鈥 Lehman said.
It was not the first time that Lehman had heard from the group. In 2011, .
鈥淭hey said they were researching use of the term 鈥榤idget鈥 for a book they were writing,鈥 Lehman said Wednesday. 鈥淚t was clear at that time that they preferred that our mascot be different, but they didn鈥檛 make a request that we change it.鈥
Lehman has been superintendent for 14 years. He said the term did not strike him as offensive.
鈥淎nd the district has never used it in an offensive way. But I do understand the perspectives of those who feel differently than I do.鈥
Lehman said that whether to change the name of the Midgets (and Lady Midgets for girls鈥 sports) would be left up to the school board.
Mascot names have been the source of controversy for years. Teams with mascots that reference Native Americans, including the Washington Redskins professional football team, have come under fire from critics who deem the monikers to be racist.
In 2013, from around the country that the publication deemed 鈥渕ost tasteless.鈥
Three teams from Illinois ranked in its Top Five. At No. 4 was the Centralia Orphans. At No. 3, the Pekin Chinks (a name that school jettisoned in 1980).
And, in the top slot, the Freeburg Midgets. (鈥淐learly political correctness hasn鈥檛 yet taken hold in this southern Illinois town,鈥 the Huffington Post wrote. 鈥淚f it had, its high schoolers would surely be known as the Freeburg Little People, or alternatively, something that isn鈥檛 completely outrageous.鈥) No Missouri school was listed.
Seth Speiser, mayor of the St. Clair County community of about 4,300 people, said criticism of the mustachioed mascot wearing boxing gloves missed the mark.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing wrong with that name at all,鈥 Speiser, 50, said Wednesday.
Speiser鈥檚 children attend Freeburg High School and play sports there. Speiser did, too. So did his father.
The mayor said he was not aware that some considered the remark to be a slur.
鈥淚t was meant as a compliment from the beginning,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 make 100 percent of the people happy all the time. It鈥檚 a great mascot, and I don鈥檛 see this community agreeing to change it.鈥
But Arnold is hopeful that the community will understand that the mascot is hurtful.
鈥淚t鈥檚 disrespectful, and it takes away our humanity,鈥 Arnold said.
The Little People of America convention began July 3 and ends Thursday. It has featured workshops, an expo with products geared to the community, fashion and talent shows, dances every night and medical consultation.
Margaret Gillerman of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
