A Massachusetts high school fired its successful football coach and hired an outside consultant on Wednesday to help investigate reports that the team used anti-Semitic language, including a mention of Auschwitz, in his game in during a recent game.
“The outrage is real, justified, and we heard that,” said Duxbury High School management in an emailed statement. “The fact that members of our school community use offensive language, including anti-Semitic language, is horrifying and disappointing.”
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In response, the school “broke ties” with coach Dave Maimaron and canceled Friday’s game against Hingham, the statement said, signed by four members of the administration, including district superintendent John Antonucci.
The district also hired Edward Mitnick of Just Training Solutions LLC to assist with the investigation. Mitnick is a lawyer and researcher with 30 years of experience in these matters.
“We know from many conversations, emails and online postings that many people want action now and we appreciate that feeling. However, we are still in the middle of an active investigation and it is important to obtain accurate information and facts in this case,” said the communicated.
The announcement came a day after Robert Trestan, president of the New England Anti-Defamation League, called for an independent investigation. Trestan said Antonucci said the words “rabbi” and “dreidel” were also used in the March 12 Duxbury game against Plymouth North. Plymouth school officials alerted Duxbury to the matter.
“It is deeply painful for the Jewish community to know that the pieces are somehow connected to the Holocaust and Judaism,” said Trestan. “This is a very serious situation. There are indications of a systemic failure on and off the field.”
The insensitive words were not addressed to the opposing team or to a particular player, Antonucci said.
Maimaron, a special needs teacher at the school, released a statement this week in which she apologized.
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“On behalf of the team and players of the Duxbury High School football team, I want to extend my apologies for the insensitive, crude and inappropriate language used in the game on March 12,” he said. He called the language “careless, unnecessary and, most importantly, painful on your face – inexcusable”.
American high school football is being played in the spring of this year because the coronavirus pandemic caused the fall season to be postponed.
Duxbury in recent years has been one of the most successful teams in the state, with five state championships since 2005. The wealthy coastal community about 30 miles south of Boston has almost 16,000 residents, according to the Census Bureau.