Oday Aboushi at Virginia football Credit: University of Virginia. (courtesy of Aboushi family)
Embattled Jets rookie Oday Aboushi lashed back today at accusations he is a fundamentalist Muslim who associates with radicals opposed to Israel, labeling the charges “lies and smears.”
In an exclusive interview with The Post, the fifth-round pick — a Brooklyn native who is believed to be the first Palestinian-American drafted by an NFL team — adamantly denied charges leveled by a conservative Jewish web site this week that Aboushi is anti-Semitic and uses social media to endorse what they consider Palestinian terrorist groups.
“My family‘s been just as shocked by the lies and smears as I’ve been,” Aboushi said in a telephone interview this afternoon. “I don’t think I’m radical at all. I have never done any radical behavior. For the writer to come out and claim that just builds lies on top of the lies.”
Aboushi, an offensive lineman from Virginia, has been besieged by angry tweets and messages since an article published Tuesday by the website Frontpagemag.com labeled him “a fundamentalist Muslim with radical associations and a heritage that pushes him towards a destructive world of violence and hate.”
The report also called for the Jets — whose fanbase includes such a large Jewisg contingent that the team asked the NFL to reschedule its 2009 home opener to avoid conflict with Rosh Hashana — to immediately release Aboushi because of his views. Aboushi told The Post his views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are anything but radical.
“My feelings are very fair — I wish both sides would come to a peaceful agreement and both live in peace,” Aboushi said. “I want to see them live together in harmony and enjoy the land instead of focusing on conflict with each other.”
Asked if he is anti-Semitic, Aboushi scoffed.
“I have plenty of friends who are Jewish,” he told The Post. “Some of my best friends are Jewish. I have teammates who are Jewish, and I was brought up with Jewish kids. I never had any problem with them, and I respect them just as much as they respect me.
“Everybody has a right to believe what they want to believe, and everybody has a right to say what they want to say,” he continued. “At the end of the day, I don’t have any disrespect or hateful things to say against the Jewish community, and I’m definitely not anti-Semitic.”
The Jets said they have given no thought to cutting Aboushi because of the accusations. The club also released a statement today supporting — within bounds — their players’ right to free speech.
“The New York Jets strongly believe in diversity, inclusion and tolerance of others,” a team spokesman said. “We also encourage all of our employees to use good judgment when exercising their rights to freedom of expression and speech to be certain that they are constructive and respectful.”
The Anti-Defamation League also weighed in with support for Aboushi, releasing a statement saying the allegations “appear to be exaggerated for the express purpose of smearing” him.
“Absolutely nothing in the public record suggests that Aboushi is anything other than a young American athlete who takes pride in his Palestinian heritage,” the ADL said in the statement. “Being pro-Palestinian does not mean you’re an anti-Semite or an extremist. The record simply does not show that Aboushi has crossed that line.”
Aboushi said he first learned of the article shortly after it was published when he started getting angry messages on Twitter and Facebook from Jewish Jets fans.
“I haven’t read the article, and I plan to keep it that way,” Aboushi told The Post. “It was shocking, though. I didn’t expect to hear anything like that about myself.”
The Frontpagemag.com article accused Aboushi of using social media sites to endorse U.S. mosques and Muslim organizations that it claims are linked to overseas terrorism and committed to the destruction of Israel.
“None of [that] is on my Facebook page, so that just shows the lies on top of lies,” Aboushi told The Post. “I do pray in a mosque, but at the end of the day, I don’t support any terrorism. I think terrorism is wrong in all cases.”
Yahoo Sports picked up on the article, with writer Adam Waksman penning a subsequent column that accused Aboushi of “anti-Semitic activism” and wondered if he should be banned from the league. The column has since been deleted.
Aboushi said he was even more stunned when a newly hired social-media editor for Major League Baseball compared him on Twitter to accused NFL murderer Aaron Hernandez.
“The @nyjets are a disgrace of an organization. The Patriots have Aaron Hernandez, the Jets have Oday Aboushi,” wrote MLB.com new media coordinator Jonathan Mael, who has since deleted his Twitter account.
Aboushi was shaken up by the Hernandez comparison.
“To be linked to something like that was just as shocking as the original article,” Aboushi said of Mael. “People have freedom of speech, and this is America, so he’s allowed to do so. But it’s still shocking.”
At the same time, Aboushi admits accusations aren’t entirely out of left field as a prominent Arab-American playing for a New York team in a post-9/11 world.
“Being one of the first Arab-Americans in the NFL is definitely going to take people back, so [accusations] come with the position,” he told The Post. “I understand it comes with the territory. The only thing [the Jets] care about is that I help them win football games, and that’s the only thing I care about, as well.”
Aboushi said the support of his family, friends and the Jets have helped him get through the controversy.
“The support has been great, and it hasn’t just been my family or the Arab community,” Aboushi said. “I’ve had people from the Jewish community and college friends and high school friends who’ve told me, ‘We know the kind of guy you are, so don’t let this bother you.’’’
Nor does Aboushi plan to stifle himself because of the accusations if he feels there is an issue involving Palestinians that’s worthy of public comment.
“I’m not ashamed of who I am,” Aboushi said. “I’m a proud Arab-American. There’s a time and place for everything, and if I feel like there’s something to be said, then I’ll say it.”