Former Brooklyn High School coach Mcfarland denies antisemitism

BROOKLYN, Ohio – An Ohio high school football coach says he was forced to resign by his school district and intended no harm to opposing players after he and his team repeatedly used “Nazi” as a play call in a Sept. 22 game against Beachwood High School — a school based in a largely Jewish Cleveland suburb.

In an interview with The Associated Press, former Brooklyn High School coach Tim Mcfarland said he never meant any offense by using the term and that it “didn’t even occur” to him that it could be taken as antisemitic.

Mcfarland, who has been coaching for 43 of his 70 years of age, further said that he offered to personally apologize to any of the Beachwood players the call may have offended. But he said he was told by Beachwood coaches that it was not necessary.

Peter Pattakos, Mcfarland’s lawyer, claimed his client was using a historical term, not a slur. Citing an Ohio high school coaching book from the 1990s, Pattakos said “Nazi” is often used in football to warn teammates of an impending blitz.

Beachwood Schools Superintendent Robert Hardis and the Beachwood Board of Education responded in a news release that Mcfarland’s statement shows he is “demonstrating further ignorance” and “succeeds in taking a terrible situation and making it worse.”

The Ohio High School Athletic Association said that they are aware of the situation and that “offensive language has no place in sports at any level.”

Brooklyn Schools Superintendent Ted Caleris declined to comment on Mcfarland’s statement. But Both the Brooklyn and Beachwood school districts said they working on a joint response to the community regarding the Sept. 22 game and determining how best to focus on their students.

Samantha Hendrickson is a corps member for the Associated Press/report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues