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A Utah school district has decided against using "Cougars" as the mascot for a new high school in part because of the negative connotation of the word in popular culture.
Canyons School District Superintendent David S. Doty says the selection of "Chargers" as mascot was driven by the desire for originality, despite a poll of some future students that showed 26 percent in favor of using "cougar."
At least three Utah schools, including Brigham Young University, use cougars as a mascot.
Doty says public comments reflect a desire to be different, but he also notes that some see the word "cougar" as carrying a "negative double entendre."
The term "cougar" in popular culture can refer to women in their 40s who have sex with younger men.
The alleged controversy is surprising to at least one of the Utah high schools that already use the mascot. Kearns football coach and athletic director Bill Cosper was a little bewildered by the news.
"To me, a mascot is usually an animal — I mean, I don't know how to even respond to that," Cosper said. "In all my years here, or in all of sports, that's never been brought up."