Yonkers NAACP in sham dunk
1-sided probe of Jewish hoops hate
The Yonkers NAACP found “no evidence” that its city’s highschool student athletes hurled antisemitic slurs at Jewish opponents during a girls basketball game earlier this month, but apparently didn’t question players or officials from the aggrieved team.
An investigation by the group reportedly found a “rush to judgment” against Roosevelt HS students, who were accused of targeting players from Leffell School, a private Jewish academy in Hartsdale, during a Jan. 4 game that was canceled partway through because of the conflict.
But Frank Coleman, president of the Yonkers NAACP and a substitute teacher at Roosevelt, said there was “absolutely no evidence of any antisemitic slurs rendered,” the Journal News reported. The accusations were both “untrue and unfair,” the NAACP report concluded after reviewing video 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 the coach and booted a player from the team after the ugly incident that led to a public apology from Yonkers Schools Interim Superintendent 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.
Rough play, rough talk
The Yonkers kids allegedly played rough, and yelled “Free Palestine!” or other anti-Jewish statements, senior team member Robin Bosworth wrote in an op-ed for Lion’s Roar, the Leffell student-run newspaper.
The fired Roosevelt coach — Bryan Williams of New Rochelle — told The Post that he was blamed for the 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 said. “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.
“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.