The Coachella Valley Unified School District confirmed Friday that it has retired the school’s controversial Arab mascot that prompted objections from The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee last year.

The Arab mascot costume was a cartoonish, headscarf-wearing man with a hooked nose, a thick beard and a devilish mustache. He often appeared with a belly-dancing genie during halftime. The genie has been retired as well, according to the district.

Now, in a compromise with offended Arab Americans, the Coachella Valley Unified School District in Riverside County has dumped the controversial mascot and belly dancer, but held on to its team nickname, Arabs, according to one official. Both sides are also in negotiations over a more benign “Arab” logo.

The mascot and belly dancer were absent from the sidelines when the Coachella Valley High football team defeated Rancho Mirage High 26-7 in its season opener on Friday night.

The ADC, a civil rights group in Washington, D.C., launched a letter-writing campaign in November to get rid of the images on the grounds they enforce negative stereotypes of an entire ethnic group and millions of U.S. citizens. The group’s research showed that Coachella Valley High was the only campus in the nation with a demeaning image of an Arab for a mascot. 

The committee is currently working with school district officials “to find a way to capitalize on their interest in the Arab world,” Ayoud said. “For example, we hope to help them organize language courses and cultural exchange programs.”