Brooklyn High School (Ohio) coach Tim McFarland resigned on Monday after a scandal created when his players used the word “Nazi” in a game against Beachwood High School, a Cleveland suburb that has a heavily Jewish population.
“This is not the first time Beachwood student-athletes have been subjected to antisemitic and racist speech,” Beachwood schools superintendent Robert Hardis said. “We always hope it will be the last.”
The Brooklyn players were using the word throughout the first half but stopped after the break when Beachwood threatened to pull its players.
Per WKYC, Brooklyn City Schools Superintendent Dr. Ted Caleris acknowledged he found out about what happened “late Friday night” after the game.
According to the superintendent, McFarland told him the “Nazi” audible call had been in his playbook “for multiple years” and “was not specifically designed for the Beachwood game.”
Caleris could not verify if it was used during any other games in the past.
He released this statement Monday:
“The Brooklyn City Schools accepted the resignation of Head Football Coach Tim McFarland on Monday morning, effective immediately, in light of an incident where the coaching staff used a designated play-call referencing the word “Nazi” at this past Friday night’s football game with Beachwood High School. Coach McFarland expresses his deepest regret about the matter, and offers his sincerest apologies to the Beachwood and Brooklyn School Communities. The Brooklyn City Schools echoes this regret, and apology as well. As stated, this hurtful and harmful speech will not be tolerated, in any form, by Brooklyn City Schools leadership. While to the district’s knowledge the language was not directed to any single individual, the Brooklyn City Schools acknowledges that using such offensive language in the first place was utterly and absolutely wrong.
“Notwithstanding what has happened, the Brooklyn City Schools family is choosing to learn from this matter, and hopefully, to grow as a result. Already, the Brooklyn City Schools has been contacted by the Anti-Defamation League of Ohio, who among others, we will hope to use as a resource for our school district going forward to promote understanding and tolerance.”
No further updates have been given at this time.
Brooklyn’s next game is at home on September 29 against Independence (Ohio).
Beachwood will travel to Trinity (Garfield Heights, Ohio) for a game on Saturday, September 30.
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