BROOKLYN, Ohio – An Ohio high school football coach resigned Monday after his team used racist and antisemitic language to call out plays during a game last week.
Brooklyn High School coach Tim McFarland and his players repeatedly used the word “Nazi” as a playcall in a game against Beachwood High School. Beachwood, a Cleveland suburb, is roughly 90% Jewish, according to the latest survey, published in 2011, by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
The Brooklyn team stopped using the term in the second half of the game after Beachwood threatened to pull its players from the field, according to a statement from Beachwood Schools Superintendent Robert Hardis. However, several Brooklyn players continued to direct racial slurs at Beachwood players during the game, the statement read.
McFarland handed in his notice of resignation Monday morning. Brooklyn Schools Superintendent Ted Caleris said in a statement that McFarland “expresses his deepest regret” and that he and the school apologize for “hurtful and harmful speech” that will “not be tolerated.”
Caleris also stated that Brooklyn High School has been contacted by the Anti-Defamation League of Ohio and hopes to use the organization as a resource going forward from the incident.
Hardis confirmed in a statement that the two school districts are in close contact and that Brooklyn has been “appropriately concerned and apologetic.”
“This is not the first time Beachwood student-athletes have been subjected to antisemitic and racist speech,” Hardis also said. “We always hope it will be the last.”
The statements did not mention disciplinary action toward the players involved.
Antisemitism in the United States has risen significantly in recent years, with no signs of declining, according to a study by Tel Aviv University’s Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League. From 2021 to 2022, the number of antisemitic incidents rose by 35%.
If it happened once, you’d be right. Sometimes kids have the wrong idea of what is appropriate, and when they err it’s important to set them straight immediately.
But doing that for most of the half? Yeah, that coach knew it. And we shouldn’t let the fact that they’re kids let any of them “it’s just a joke, bro” out of it.
It seems like setting the kids straight is what’s happening. The Beachwood administration is happy with the response so far from the Brooklyn school. The adult that should have stopped or prevented it is gone, hopefully assistants are too.