Bend-La Pine Schools is reviewing its athletic sponsorship policy amid controversy regarding a sponsor for Mountain View High School. BLPS selected Nosler Inc., a local ammunition manufacturer, as the sponsor for its football and soccer programs, raising concerns from parents, teachers and residents.
A concerned community member, who asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation, emailed the Source Weekly on Sept. 14, sending photos of the Nosler name on the school’s scoreboard and some of the girls’ soccer team t-shirts.
The woman, who noted that her email was written on behalf of other parents and teachers, said the sponsor selection was “inappropriate,” and “upsetting,” mentioning the recent shooting in Downtown Bend and the fact that the gunman who killed two victims in a shooting at the east side Safeway was a previous Mountain View High School student. The Source received a similar email from community members on Sept. 5, detailing concerns that the sponsorship was “tone deaf” for similar reasons, referencing the recent anniversary of last year’s Safeway shooting on Aug. 28.
According to Scott Maben, the director of communications for BLPS, the t-shirts in question were made for a fundraiser but won’t be worn while the school reviews its policies.
The Nosler sign on the schoolboard was up for one week and was removed prior to Sept. 8 due to its size and prominence, according to correspondence between Mountain View Principal Michael Hicks and Maben. A replacement Nosler sign has been designed but has not yet been put up.
Nosler Inc., is set to pay $4,000 for a sign across Mountain View’s football scoreboard. “Nosler is a local, family-owned company with strong ties to Mountain View High School and a long history of support for school athletics and students,” Hicks wrote.
According to Maben, as of press time the District had received several messages, with some opposing the Nosler sponsorship and others supporting it.
“Acknowledging Nosler’s support of Mountain View with a sign or banner on school property has prompted a range of reaction,” said Maben.
Zach Waterman, Nosler’s public relations manager, said the company has sponsored Mountain View High for decades. “We’re going to continue to donate and support the schools financially as much as we can, like we’ve always done,” Waterman told the Source. “It’s not about the sign, it’s something the school does in recognition of supporters. But really for us, it’s more about supporting our schools.”
Nosler representatives did not wish to comment at this time on the controversy regarding its sponsorship with the school.
According to Maben, sponsorships are typically approved by the school athletic director, principal or other members of the school administration. After hearing from residents, the District plans to review its policies and procedures regarding sponsorships and advertisements on its property.
“We are listening to this feedback and are interested in how students, staff, families and community members perceive the way our community sponsors are recognized for contributions to school programs,” said Katie Legace, BLPS’ executive director of high schools.
The District’s current policy outlines the types of advertisements it does not accept. The rules in the policy are lengthy, giving clear guidelines on what the District won’t accept in terms of advertisements, including the promotion of illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling or firearms.
Among school districts, board members are responsible for setting district policies. Melissa Barnes Dholakia, chair of the BLPS board of directors, shared how the board plans to move forward regarding its policy.
“As a Board we appreciate hearing from stakeholders as we work to ensure safe spaces for our youth. As Chair, I brought these concerns to Superintendent [Steven] Cook alongside a request to review both the current concern as well as the policy itself. I believe through this review process we will build a clarity around policy that in turn will support consistent implementation across the district.”
This article appears in Source Weekly September 21, 2023.
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What the article has not mentioned is the shooting of Barry Washington who was shot downtown by Ian Cranston who worked for Nosler. Perhaps Nosler should donate anonymously to support school sports and not giving to get advertisement that they are bullet makers. The very bullet that killed Barry Washington.
While I don’t fully agree with blackballing Nosler purely on the basis of the legal and constitutionally protected products it manufactures, the acceptance of the sponsorship does run afoul of the BLPS’ own policy. The policy was put in place in 2012, so this was a deliberate choice made by members of BLPS in direct contempt of their own policy, which shouldn’t be tolerated by the public. If a policy is in place, it should be followed by the officials who placed it there. If they don’t like it, they can take steps to modify or repeal it.
Nicole, what evidence do you have that the bullet that killed Washington was manufactured by Nosler? There hasn’t been any press regarding who made the bullet that killed Washington. Your inference lacks evidence. Cranston was drinking while carrying his firearm at a place restricted by his concealed carry license, which immediately rendered the license void; regardless of the manufacturer of the bullet or the company for whom he worked, Cranston became a criminal the moment he stepped into the bar and took his first sip.
From a quick glance at the Nosler product website, you can order the “Nosler 22” cartridge for your converted AR 15. (Then you can click on over to the AR-STONER website and order a 25 round capacity magazine for your Nosler 22’s.)
The Nosler 22 is a cartridge that was designed to surpass the industry standard .223 Remington cartridge in terms of cartridge capacity, increased muzzle energy (20% more), and increased bullet velocity. One enthusiast called it “hot-rodding” his AR 15.
Fine, “supporting our schools” is a meritorious community service. But, maybe, buying unavoidably eye-catching ad space on a scoreboard is laying it on a bit thick.
At any rate, I’d feel better if I knew the folks at Nosler have been playing a role in promoting gun safety reform. Are they?