in july 2013, kruse gained national attention by appearing in a cnn video news story about a bill he sponsored. his bill would reverse an existing oregon law requiring public schools to remove what some colleagues consider "racist" and "insensitive" references to native americans on their sports team's uniforms. prior to the enactment of the 2012 oregon law, the state superintendent of schools had determined that the continued use of native american mascots has created a "hostile educational environment." schools have been given until 2017 to comply with the required change. in defending his bill, kruse has asked: "do we change the entire world for the small few ["sic"]? he graduated from roseburg high school whose mascot is "the indians". this mascot is frequently depicted in cartoons as clownish or as a charging warrior. the images have offended citizens of native american descent and caused local controversy.