The Navy football team has changed its motto for the upcoming season after reporters from The Capital Gazette questioned whether it was insensitive after last year's deadly shooting in its newsroom.
Navy's seniors originally selected "Load the Clip" as the motto for the 2019 season but replaced it with "Win the Day" on Friday.
Five employees of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, died and two others were wounded on June 28, 2018, when a man with a shotgun entered the newsroom and started shooting. The Capital Gazette's office is located only a few miles from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
"It is always my priority, part of my mission statement, for the Navy to be a good neighbor," Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Sean S. Buck said in a statement to the Capital Gazette.
"The bottom line is, we missed the mark here. 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."
"The bottom line is, we missed the mark here. 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." Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Sean S. Buck
Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo had expressed concern about the motto during American Athletic Conference media days last month.
"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 said. "It means you have to be prepared for the fight, and that is a process that happens every day."
Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said he agreed with the team's decision to change the motto.
"Our coaches and midshipmen realized that the direction they were headed created sensitivities that were not aligned with the original intent," Gladchuk said in a statement.
"Corrective measures were taken immediately and on behalf of the team at large, our sincerest apologies to anyone who was offended. It was a lesson learned and it's important that everything we do at the Naval Academy represents not only appropriate action, but assumed responsibility. We are hopeful we can now put this behind us and 'Win the Day.'"
The Midshipmen open the season against FCS opponent Holy Cross on Aug. 31.