Counter petition started to keep Boyle ‘Rebels’
BOYLE COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) – After a petition was started two weeks ago to change the name of the “Rebels” mascot at Boyle County High School, a counter petition now has been started to keep the mascot.
Austin Norvell started the petition Monday with a goal of 2,500 signatures. He had more than 2,200 Tuesday afternoon, according to change.org, the online host site for the petition.
Norvell, a former videographer for Boyle County High football and communications intern for former Governor Matt Bevin, is addressing the petition to Boyle County Schools Superintendent Mike LaFavers and Boyle County High School Principal Mark Wade.
“A petition recently surfaced calling for the Rebel mascot to be removed and it gathered over 100 signatures, claiming that the mascot ‘promotes racist ideology and the dehumanization of an entire class of people,'” wrote Norvell, who has studied criminology and political science at Western Kentucky University, according to his Facebook page.
“As a result of this, local Kentucky news stations picked up the story and made it known to the rest of the state. Because of this, there has been an influx of individuals who did not attend Boyle County High School who are now calling for the Rebel mascot to be removed. As an alumnus of Boyle County High School myself, I am a proud Rebel and always will be. This petition calls for the Rebel to REMAIN as the mascot for Boyle County High School located in Danville, Kentucky,” Norvell concluded.
The Rebels have been the school’s mascot since the early 1960s. Any change in the mascot would have to start with the high school and then go to the school board.
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