A Baptist state legislator from New Jersey is taking issue with the satanic symbol and religious name of the New Jersey Devils.
“This is an age where symbolism is very important,” state assemblyman Craig Stanley told the Associated Press. Stanley is a Baptist deacon whose resolution to rename the hockey team is to be introduced in the assembly next month.
Under his plan, a new name would be chosen in a statewide competition.
Stanley's district includes parts of Newark, where the team plans to move into a $310 million, 18,000-seat downtown arena in September 2007.
The team's mascot is a red, cartoonish figure with a goatee and horns. Devils fans have rallied around it as their team has won three Stanley Cup championships.
Devils management opposes the proposed changes.
“I can assure you the Devils name will never change, and I think there are more important things to be thinking about than something that will never happen,” chief executive officer Lou Lamoriello told the AP. “It's who we are and what we want to be.”
Religion News Service