KENNESAW, Ga. — The student who wears the owl mascot costume at a Georgia public university where five cheerleaders knelt during the national anthem had no business leading a cross-campus march in support of the cheerleaders, an influential lawmaker said.
Kenneth Sturkey, who dresses as Scrappy the Owl at Kennesaw State University athletic events, said he donned the costume without permission for Monday’s rally on behalf of cheerleaders who knelt at a game Sept. 30 to protest racial inequality.
“I figured it might help some people step outside their comfort zone knowing there’s an icon behind them,” Sturkey told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “If standing up to injustice and inequality is something that’s going to upset the athletic department, which I can totally understand regarding the suit … and that may cost me my job, then that’s perfectly fine.”
Republican state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, who chairs a Georgia House subcommittee in charge of funding the state’s public universities, objected to the mascot’s appearance at the rally in the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw. He said Monday a taxpayer-funded mascot should not have been used — unless any group can solicit the mascot’s services for protests.
Attending Monday’s rally backing the so-called Kennesaw Five as a student would be acceptable, “but with respect to utilizing the school’s mascot, that’s inappropriate,” Ehrhart told The Marietta Daily Journal.
During Monday’s rally, television reporters held microphones in front of Sturkey’s giant owl head as he spoke about his support for the cheerleaders, video from WXIA-TV showed.
Any group can request that Scrappy attend their off-campus event, which costs $75 per hour, according to Kennesaw State’s official athletic department website. Asked by The Associated Press about the school’s policies regarding the mascot’s appearances, Kennesaw State spokeswoman Tammy DeMel said she expected to have information to share later Monday.
