NAACP finds ‘no evidence’ of antisemitic taunting at NY girls HS basketball game — but group’s probe didn’t question players, officials
The Yonkers NAACP found “no evidence” that its city’s high school student-athletes hurled antisemitic slurs at Jewish opponents during a girls basketball game — but apparently didn’t question players or officials from the other team.
An investigation by the group reportedly found a “rush to judgment” against Roosevelt High School students, who were accused of targeting players from Leffell School, a private Jewish school in Hartsdale, during a Jan. 4 game that was canceled partway through because of the conflicts.
Frank Coleman, president of the Yonkers NAACP and a substitute teacher at Roosevelt, said there was “absolutely no evidence of any antisemitic slurs rendered,” according to the Journal News.
The accusations were both “untrue and unfair,” the NAACP report concluded after reviewing footage of the game and speaking to parents, kids and coaches.
It also said claims that Roosevelt’s players were excessively aggressive were incorrect.
“They simply played basketball,” said a summary of the NAACP’s report, which was first published in The Yonkers Ledger.
The finding contradicts the conclusions of the Yonkers school district, which canned its coach and booted a player from the team after the ugly incident — which also led to a public apology from Yonkers Public Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Luis Rodriguez and city Mayor Mike Spano.
“Collectively, we do not and will not tolerate hate speech of any kind from our students and community,” the pair said in a joint statement denouncing the hatred and apologizing for the alleged vitriol the visiting team faced.
“The antisemitic rhetoric reportedly made against the student athletes of The Leffell School are abhorrent, inappropriate and not in line with the values we set forth for our young people,” it continued.
The game ended early after the alleged antisemitic slurs, and security guards escorted the Leffell School players off the court after what the players described as an increasingly hostile contest.
At one point, one student purportedly said, “I support Hamas, you f–king Jew.”
The Yonkers kids allegedly played rough, and throughout the contest they yelled “Free Palestine” or other anti-Jewish statements, senior player Robin Bosworth wrote in an op-ed for the Lion’s Roar, Leffell’s student-run newspaper.
Eventually, the Leffell players walked off during a timeout as the coaches spoke with each other, then the referees. Later, they canceled the game, and Roosevelt agreed to forfeit.
The Roosevelt coach — Bryan Williams of New Rochelle — told The Post that he was blamed for the embarrassing incident, even though he wasn’t aware anything happened on the court.
“They needed a scapegoat, and I was it,” he said. “They needed a fall guy.”
“I do not condone what was allegedly done,” he continued. “I do not condone that. I focus on my team and what we have to try to do to win and be successful.”
Michael Kay, Leffell’s head of school, told the Journal News that the Yonkers NAACP didn’t get in touch with its players, coaches or administrators during its probe. And the NAACP’s findings subvert both the district’s findings and their students’ stories.
“As educators, we strongly share the stated desire to bring communities together for moments of genuine learning,” Kay said in a statement to the outlet.
The Post has reached out to Leffell for comment.
“We are working constructively and privately with the district leadership to craft appropriate opportunities to do so.”
A spokesperson fo Yonkers’ mayor and another for the Yonkers school district told The Journal News that the leadership stands by its actions.
Coleman — who is also senior pastor at Messiah Baptist Church — did not respond to a request for comment.
