Walpole School District To Remove 'Rebel' Sports Name

WALPOLE, MA — The Walpole School Committee has voted unanimously to create a commission to come up with a new name for the district's athletic team, now called the Rebels.

Thousands of residents had voiced their opinions on the subject in recent weeks and month, including those who circulated petitions and spoke against the name at a forum on the topic.

The Rebel name carries connotations to the Confederacy, to anti-abolitionists and to segregationists in the 1960s, opponents argued. On June 16, community members lined up for hours to speak on Zoom in favor or opposed to changing the name.

The included alumni and former athletes at Walpole High School who felt the name should be changed.

Superintendent Bridget Gough spoke to committee members about her own experience as a Walpole athlete.

"As a student athlete, I proudly wore the red and blue uniform," Gough said. "The band played ‘Dixie,’ and the Confederate flag waved. As a child, like many of our youth and students today, I did not think there was anything wrong with our mascot. However, it is time for a change."

The school used to have Confederate symbols such as the flag and the song "Dixie" present at sporting events, but in 1994 the Walpole School Committee voted to ban the flag as a symbol for its athletic teams and began "rebranding" the name.

School committee members said the rebranding hadn't gone far enough.

"It’s time to understand that the Rebel name does have a broader meaning outside of what we want it to mean, and that meaning is painful," said committee member Kristin Syrek.

The name-change commission will be made up of a diverse group of community members. The School Committee agreed the commission will have:

• minority students and alumni
• high school principal
• varsity coaches
• the METCO director
• members of the student council
• members of the student body
• a representative of the alumni association
• the director of the pride program
• a member of the Gay-Straight Alliance
• a Fine Arts Department representative