Not a Typo: The San Antonio Spores? PETA Shoots Its Shot With Animal-Friendly Rebrand Request

For Immediate Release:
June 16, 2026

Contact:
Hannah Nelson 202-483-7382

With the San Antonio Spurs fresh off their thrilling NBA Finals run, PETA is passing the team a winning play for next season: breakaway from a name that celebrates sharp metal objects designed to torment animals, and rebrand as the San Antonio Spores—as in, mushroom spores—and for good reason. In a letter sent today to Managing Partner Peter J. Holt, PETA explains that promoting spurs can be seen as glorifying how animals abused in rodeos endure fear and trauma, broken bones, and even fatal injuries, whereas choosing to embrace mushrooms would be the morel thing to do—and a true champ-ignon move: Texas is proud of its mushroom industry, and eating these nutritional all-stars supports brain and heart health and helps reduce cancer risk.

To sweeten the deal, PETA is offering to provide brand new custom jerseys for the team—and, while it may be a tall order, that includes Wembanyama—featuring Texas’ official state mushroom, the Chorioactis geaster.

“Ditching a name that celebrates a device designed to deliver pain in favor of fandom for fungi would be a slam-dunk,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is ready to help San Antonio lead the league in compassion with an animal-friendly mycelial makeover.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Holt follows.

June 16, 2026

Peter J. Holt
Managing Partner
Spurs Sports & Entertainment

Dear Mr. Holt:

Greetings from your many fans at PETA and our more than 350,000 members and supporters in Texas. Congratulations on a terrific season and an exciting playoff run—the future looks bright! As you look ahead, might we suggest a rebrand with a team name that doesn’t celebrate a metal object that is used to torment animals? A name like the San Antonio Spores could mushroom into a national conversation and encourage healthy eating. It might also be a good luck charm, as “champignons” puts “champions” front of mind. If you agree, we’d be happy to provide new jerseys for the team—and, while it may be a tall order, that includes Wembanyama. We’ve even designed one featuring Texas’ state mushroom, the Chorioactis geaster:

Our idea is a win-win: Times have changed, and no longer promoting the use of spurs is the morel thing to do, since spurs can be seen as glorifying the suffering of animals abused in rodeos, who endure fear and trauma, torn muscles, broken bones, and even fatal injuries. By contrast, eating mushrooms is all positive: They support brain and heart health and help reduce cancer risk, too. 

Thank you for your consideration. We have our ear to the ground as we look forward to hearing from you.

Very truly yours,  

Ingrid Newkirk 

Founder