When the Wells High School football team takes the field on Saturday for the Class D South championship game there is one thing I can guarantee will happen — a large and enthusiastic crowd will greet the Warriors.

While some high school programs have struggled in recent years to draw consistently big crowds, the Wells community has always shown up to support their team.

A few weeks ago that same community came under fire when a parent of a Lisbon High School football player accused the Wells fans of creating a hostile and racist environment.

Amelia Tuplin and her son, who is a quarterback for Lisbon, are both full-blooded Mi’kmaq Indians. A few days after the game, Tuplin sent a letter to Wells Superintendent Jim Daly — and to most of the state’s media outlets — in which she described a “display of racism, ignorance and mockery that took place at the Wells High School football game on Friday, October 13, 2017.”

Tuplin said she witnessed members of the Wells community — both adults and students — banging on fake drums, singing mock chants, performing mock dances and “continuously making hand over mouth sounds.”

“Your team, students and spectators mocked our families heritage,” Tuplin wrote. “It was the most ultimate display of racism on the largest scale I’ve ever seen. A quick search on social media will bring up hundreds of photos to prove my case.”

The Wells High School administration conducted an investigation and found no evidence of any racist behavior. Journal Tribune Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller was at the game and also said he saw no signs of racism during the game.

I feel that Tuplin, who is certainly entitled to voice her opinion, may have overreacted during the game. But while her accusations against an entire school district and community were over the top, this has brought up a discussion as to whether the school should keep using the “Warriors” nickname and mascot.

The Wells administration has started the process of forming a “Warrior mascot advisory committee” and there will be a decision made on the topic in April of 2018, according to a report on the school district’s website.

When I first learned of this controversy I looked at a ton of comments on social media and made sure to read most of the articles published throughout the state on this topic. The people of Wells seemed to be truly stunned by the allegations, and they were quick to defend their school and community.

Like I said before, Ms. Tuplin is entitled to her opinion and, as I am not a Native American, I don’t think I could ever truly understand how she feels. But I do believe that there is a middle ground between getting rid of the name “Warriors” all together and telling Tuplin and others who don’t like the mascot to just sit down and be quiet.

I believe the name “Warriors” has many meanings to many different people, but I feel that pretty much any definition would have words like honor, fighter and strength in it.

When people in Wells talk about “Warrior Pride” they are certainly not being disrespectful to Native Americans. They are talking about a sense of honor, loyalty and respect that they feel for their school district and really their community as a whole.

So I believe the best way forward for Wells High School would be to absolutely keep the name “Warriors,” but lose the imagery that has gone along with it.

Get rid of the references to Native American culture and replace it with either just a plain block “W” or come up with a new look for the Warriors mascot. You could even give some of the young artists in Wells a chance to submit their ideas for what the Warriors mascot should look like in the future.

The name “Warriors” has been a source of pride in the Wells community for decades and I believe it should stay that way — but I also feel that the school district can lose the imagery that currently goes with it and still say “Warrior Pride” with as much enthusiasm and passion as they always have.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.