The United States Naval Academy is banning its college football program from using its team motto over fears its gun reference will offend people.
Navy football’s senior team captains long ago picked “Load The Clip” as the team’s motto for the 2019 season, but Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Sean S. Buck suddenly banned the team from using it.
“The initial internal football team motto selected, ‘Load the Clip,’ was inappropriate and insensitive to the community we call home, and for that, I take responsibility for, and apologize to not only the Capital Gazette, but the entire Annapolis community,” said Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Sean S. Buck in a prepare statement.
“The new motto will be ‘Win the Day,'” said Buck.
The decision to ban the slogan was made several days before shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, and was done in response to a question Buck received from a reporter about the one-year anniversary of a shooting in the newsroom of a local paper.
The slogan was intended to remind players of the need to meticulously prepare for games.
“Clearly it’s a metaphor that speaks to the fact we’re going to battle every weekend and when you go to battle you need to have enough ammunition,” Niumatalolo told The Capital last month. “It means you have to be prepared for the fight and that is a process that happens every day.”