Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno spoke with Dr. Seuss Enterprises on Friday about its decision to pull a mural from The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum after complaints from three authors that it contains a "jarring racial stereotype" of Chinese man with chopsticks.

The mayor said he received a call from Susan Brandt, president of licensing and marketing for the company on Friday afternoon.

"I told her next week it will be something else," Sarno said of the controversy. "You have to put your foot down and draw a line in the sand."

He said he reiterated to Brandt that he wanted the "And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street" mural to remain in place.

"I sense they are looking for a plausible compromise," Sarno said.

The mayor said he believed that Springfield Museums President Kay Simpson had been "put under the gun by Dr. Seuss Enterprises and they felt they had to make a move on this."

Prior to the announcement on Thursday night by the Springfield Museums and Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Simpson had written in a letter, "As a museum, we do not alter or edit an artist's work."

Authors Mo Willems, Mike Curato and Lisa Yee of Northampton, who signed a letter to the Springfield Museums and posted it on social media, said they found part of the mural "deeply hurtful" and would not attend a planned Oct. 14 event there.

Springfield Museums officials said they offered to meet with Willems, Curato and Yee, but they declined.

The mural character in question was described by Geisel in his 1937 book as "a Chinese man who eats with sticks."

In a statement to the media, Sarno said "This is political correctness at its worst, and this is what is wrong with our country. We have extreme fringe groups on both the right and the left dictating an agenda to divide instead of working together towards the betterment of our country."

The mayor accused the authors of manufacturing an issue to boost their profile.