REGINA - A Saskatchewan junior hockey team is under fire after unveiling a new mascot that critics are calling offensive to Middle Eastern people.
Prince Albert Raiders spokeswoman Amber Pratt says the mascot's costume is based on the Western Hockey League team's original logo introduced in 1982.
It depicts an Arabian raider character holding a sword and a hockey stick.
Pratt says she is surprised by the criticism and the organization has received more positive comments than negative ones.
But Rhonda Rosenberg, executive director of the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan, says mascots are not an appropriate avenue for depicting cultural groups of people.
She says teams needs to look at what values and ideas are being put forward.
A professor who specializes in cultural appropriation in sports at a Philadelphia university says the mascot's image draws upon old, stereotypical notions of racial and ethnic minorities.
Ellen Staurowsky compared the Prince Albert mascot to a high school mascot in California which raised controversy earlier this year, saying that the issue is prevalent across all sports and levels.
