09/27/2023
Jewish Groups to Work with Brooklyn Following 'Nazi' Incident
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COURTNEY BYRNES | CJN
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
Several Jewish organizations are working with two local high schools after Brooklyn High School football team used the word “Nazi” and racial slurs during a Sept. 22 game against Beachwood High School.
Fishman
Brooklyn head coach Tim McFarland, who resigned three days after the game on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar and the Day of Atonement, admitted during a halftime meeting with both schools’ coaches, athletic directors and officials that his team had a designated play call named “Nazi,” according to statements from the two schools. The game occurred between the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
The team agreed to change the name of the play and it was not used during the second half, however, Beachwood Athletic Director Ryan M. Peters wrote to families after the game that several Brooklyn players used racial slurs multiple times during the game.
As with past incidents in the community, such as recent antisemitic incidents aimed at Orange High School lacrosse players in the last year and a half, organizations like the Anti-Defamation League of Cleveland, American Jewish Committee Cleveland and the Jewish Federation of Cleveland have offered support and their resources to schools for further education.
“We all bring different resources to the table, and we all support the community in different ways,” Kelly Fishman, regional director of ADL Cleveland, told the Cleveland Jewish News Sept. 26. “And I think it’s important that we can continue to show up together as a united resource, so that no matter who a community member or school reaches out to, we’re all working together to share the resources that we have.
Hardis
“Because at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing, is to make sure that our communities are supported in all the ways that they need to be.”
Fishman said she reached out to both schools , and while the ADL already works closely with Beachwood, she said Brooklyn’s superintendent, Ted Caleris, was responsive and taking the matter seriously.
The ADL has shared its incident response guides for K-12 education and sports, as well as a collection of resources called antisemitism in sports that have lessons, tools and strategies for teachers and parents. She said she is also speaking with Caleris on Sept. 26 about additional in-person training the ADL can do with the school district.
“I think it’s just important that we continue to educate students, staff and families because there’s just no space in our schools, in sports, for any kind of these references or slurs,” Fishman said. “And we want to make sure that students can show up as their best selves. And if we aren’t helping them understand when something is hurtful and the impact that that can have on their community or their friends or the students they’re playing against, then I think we’re missing out, because I think it’s our job to make sure we’re helping them show up as their best selves.”
Lee C. Shapiro, regional director of AJC Cleveland, told the CJN the organization reached out to both schools’ administrators on Sept. 24 with the offer to provide resources, educational trainings and opportunities for both staff and students. She also said Caleris responded favorably to the offer and the AJC looks forward to working with the school system to create better awareness and understanding.
Peters
“The trivialization of the Holocaust and the usage of racial slurs have no place on a sports field, in a classroom, in civil discourse, really anywhere,” Shapiro said. “So, the incident on Friday evening was deeply concerning. We were pleased that both schools took the incident seriously.”
The Federation, along with its partners such as the Kol Israel Foundation and the Maltz Museum, has also put together educational resources for the school district and is working with the ADL and AJC, Jason Wuliger, chair of the Federation’s government relations committee, told the CJN.
“Unfortunately, incidents like this are not unique,” he said. “We’ve been seeing them happen throughout Northeast Ohio over the last few years and response is important because we cannot be silent in the face of antisemitism.”
Wuliger said that expanding Holocaust education in all communities, regardless of the Jewish population there, is important in preventing such incidents. In response to the name of the call, he said, “The term ‘Nazi’ should be offensive to every American regardless of whether or not you are Jewish. Of course, the Jewish people suffered uniquely at the hands of the Nazis, but what the Nazis did throughout Europe and what they wanted to do in the rest of the world is something that the greatest generation had to rise up in mass to stop. And thousands of our troops were killed overseas fighting to stop them.”
Shapiro
During the game, there was also a report of a threat made by a Brooklyn middle school student who left the game around halftime and police presence was increased as a result, Peters wrote.
Peters condemned the offensive language and stated Beachwood would address the incident with Brooklyn schools administration and the Chagrin Valley Conference Commissioner.
“I am so proud of our kids and coaches at the way they handled themselves during and after the game,” Peters wrote. “They are true warriors that play the game of football with class, dignity and a lot of heart. They are amazing kids and I am so proud that they are Bison!”
Beachwood Superintendent Robert P. Hardis likewise condemned the behavior as unacceptable and violating CVC’s rules of sportsmanship in a Sept. 23 email regarding the incident. He also offered support for those angered or distressed by the incident.
Wuliger
The Beachwood City School District previously passed a diversity and sportsmanship resolution following racially charges incidents at a Sept. 20, 2019, football game against Grand Valley High School, who also passed the resolution, according to past CJN reporting.
“This is not the first time Beachwood student-athletes have been subjected to antisemitic and racist speech,” Hardis wrote. “We always hope it will be the last.”
Caleris wrote in a statement while the offensive language was not directed to any single individual to the district’s knowledge, Brooklyn City Schools also condemns its use. He added that the school community is choosing to learn from the incident and grow, noting the ADL and others who have offered resources.
“Coach McFarland expresses his deepest regret about the matter, and offers his sincerest apologies to the Beachwood and Brooklyn School Communities,” he wrote. “The Brooklyn City Schools echoes this regret, and apology as well. As stated, this hurtful and harmful speech will not be tolerated, in any form, by Brooklyn City Schools leadership.
Betsy Friedlander attended the game as her daughter, Sami Stimpert, is a sophomore cheerleader for Beachwood High School.
“From the stands, obviously we could not hear anything, but could see Beachwood coaches in heated conversations with the referees,” she wrote in an email to the Cleveland Jewish News. “I was curious as to why my daughter and the other cheerleaders were quickly rushed off the field. A minute later, I got a text from my daughter saying come to the parking lot ASAP. At the time, she was not sure what was going on either. And later found out from a friend who is a football player what had happened.
“I would hope that this story is not only investigated, but published. There is no place for this type of ignorance and hatred in high school sports. And in my opinion, there should be repercussions for this behavior. Our children deserve to feel safe participating in extracurricular activities with other school districts.”
Beachwood Mayor Justin Berns and Beachwood City Council issued a statement Sept. 24 also condemning the language and behavior, while commending the response by Beachwood officials and athletes.
“We do appreciate the apology issued by Brooklyn’s school leadership and we trust that they will address this issue in a way that demonstrates accountability,” the statement concluded.
Brooklyn won the game, 35-3.
This is a developing story.
