A Long Island school district may get to keep a shortened version of its “Thunderbirds” team name that New York State seemed poised to shoot down under its Native American logo ban.
Connetquot’s team could rebrand as the “T-Birds” under a proposed deal with the state Board of Regents, which previously had the shortened moniker on a list of banned phrases because it had “vestiges” of the full name.
“Last month they wouldn’t allow it…They would not allow T-Birds or any derivative, not even Thunder,” fumed school board trustee Jaclyn Napolitano-Furno, who is against a compromise and argues there was a lack of public input.
“For four years, it was derogatory, and now it’s not derogatory,” said Napolitano-Furno, a 1996 grad of the district.
The state education department would accept the shortened name in exchange for Connetquot dropping ongoing legal action against the state logo ban, which was enacted in 2023, according to documents reviewed by The Post.
The ban could result in the loss of state funding and the dismissal of non-compliant school board members across New York after June 30.
Connetquot, which already uses “T-Birds” in part, has been fighting in court alongside other districts such as Massapequa, where officials are trying to preserve the name and logo of the Chiefs.
The fight against the ban has gotten a boost from President Trump, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and the Department of Justice with threats that the state’s policy may be dissolved because it violated federal policies.
“Now, all of a sudden, as a last-ditch effort, the state is willing to try to appease and get people to sign off,” Napolitano-Furno said, adding that a recent poll showed 60% of residents want to keep fighting for the full Thunderbirds name.
During litigation, the district, which had been granted an extension from the June 30 deadline, had silently communicated to New York that it had allocated more than $23 million to replace its logo as well.
“It doesn’t make sense that we would shift when there’s so much momentum to move forward, especially with the Department of Justice getting involved,” added Napolitano-Furno, an individual plaintiff in the lawsuit who has two kids in Connetquot High School this year.
The local mom, whose term ends at the end of June, added that she has defied board pressure to sign off on the compromise, as it needs her legal support to move forward.
“It is really overreach by the state of New York. At some point, somebody’s got to put their feet down, dig their heels in and say enough is enough,” Napolitano-Furno, a 47-year-old police officer in Nassau County, said of the “shady deal” kept away from public input.
“There are so many more beneficial educational items we could be putting money towards…For years, we’ve been the Thunderbirds. It was never an issue. We go to the beach, we watch the Thunderbird Air Force squad — that’s not an issue.”
However, Napolitano-Furno can be excluded from a new arrangement, according to her attorney, Oliver Roberts, who is also representing Massapequa. He added that a new deal could bring further legal action against both the board and the district from the livid community member.
“It’s very sad and disgraceful that the state is now colluding with local school boards in shady quid pro quo deals that sell out local communities,” said Roberts, who added that he and his client have no intention of backing out in court.
The news also comes on the heels of the Shinnecock Nation asking the town of Southampton to remove its seal from inside a government building over disputes regarding the tribe’s construction of a gas station, Dan’s Papers reported.
Opposite that, however, the Native American Guardians Association — a group that joined McMahon in Massapequa when she announced that New York’s decision to change only Native American team names was a civil rights violation — is looking to take further action in court to increase indigenous representation.
NAGA counsel Chap Petersen said the group “is evaluating all legal options against New York schools that erase and discriminate against Native Americans through enforcement of this unconstitutional regulation.”
Meanwhile, Napolitano-Furno said the logo was part of a speech she gave at the high school graduation this year. The Connetquot valedictorian also delivered “a speech and a half” on it, the school board member said.
“It was really a powerful moment,” she said. “Thunderbirds means power, it means strength, and we honor it. The audience went wild.”
