Illinois school athletes remain ‘Midgets’ despite objections

Athletes at a southern Illinois high school will keep the nickname Freeburg Midgets, despite the objections of a group representing people with dwarfism who find the name offensive. About 500 people gathered at the Freeburg (Illinois) Community High School late Thursday to urge the school board not to dump the name that was coined nearly 100 years ago by a reporter after he watched the school’s short basketball team beat much larger opponents. On July 8, the Little People of America delivered a petition to Superintendent Andrew Lehman, asking Freeburg and half a dozen other schools nationwide to drop the Midgets moniker. – AP