(WSVN) - Parents in one Utah town are petitioning to change the name of their new high school’s mascot because it sounds like male anatomy.
When Farmington High School opens in 2018, their mascot will be known as “The Phoenix.” But parents are urging the Davis School District to reconsider the name because when pluralized, some say it would sound like “penises” and lead to crude jokes.
Kyle Fraughton, a parent of students who will attend the school, joined his neighbors to practice cheering for the new team.
The result, they say, raised eyebrows.
The group tried cheering for “Phoenixes,” but the plural form didn’t sound right, Fraughton said.
“I looked on Google and a couple hits down I saw that the plural of phoenix was either phoenixes or phoenices,” Kyle Fraughton told The Salt Lake Tribune. “I have no interest in my daughter or my son playing sports and getting referred to as something like a penis.”
Fraughton started a petition to change the name, writing, “We were horrified to hear that the phonetics of the word Phoenices are far too close to the word penises. I don’t mean to be crass, but don’t want there to be confusion around the point I am trying to make.”
According to the school district, the mascot’s name was selected by students who will be attending the school next fall. The name beat out “Farmers” and “Eagles.”
The school’s Principal Richard Swanson told the newspaper that the word would remain singular and not pluralized.
“We are one. We are The Phoenix,” Swanson said.
Parents, including Fraughton, feel Swanson’s stance will be viewed differently by rival high schools, especially at sporting events.
More than 2,600 people so far have signed the petition supporting a name change.
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