The Southside High School mascot was originally the Rebels, more specifically Johnny Reb who is a fictional personification of a Confederate soldier. The mascot generated controversy along with the school's fight song, Dixie, due to Confederacy's association with slavery. In 2000, Principal Wayne Haver banned the display of the Confederate flag at school and school events; many students had taken it to be the school flag due to Johnny Reb being a Confederate soldier. Talks of replacing Johnny Reb with a mustang had circulated since the 1980s but no change was made until the summer of 2015.