A high school girls' basketball coach has been fired after being hurled an anti-Semitic slur while coaching against a Jewish school.
While Brian Williams was coaching at Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, New York, an investigation found that players on his team yelled “Liberate Palestine” at opponents playing at Leffel School. .
Williams, who is in his third year as coach, says he is the school's “scapegoat” for the incident.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Brian Williams was fired for “mismanagement” after at least one player on his team hurled an anti-Semitic slur at a Jewish opponent. (St. Petersburg)
“It gives me a bad impression and makes people who don't know me think I'm a monster, that I hate Jews, that I can't get along in a multicultural world, and that's a lie. .I lied,'' Williams told News 12 Westchester.
Williams said he was told he was fired for “poor management” but there was not much he could do about the player's conduct.
“I had nothing to do with it. I'm just coaching the team. I can't control what someone says on the court, and neither can most coaches,” he said. .
Yonkers Interim Superintendent Luis Rodriguez said, “The fact that the coach has been severed from employment with the Yonkers Public School District is in no way conceivable.”[s] That he participated in, condoned, or condoned anti-Semitism in all its forms. ”
Wilson basketball during the Los Angeles Sparks vs. Dallas Wings game at College Park Center on July 22, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Michael Gonzalez/NBAE via Getty Images)
Thursday's game between the two schools ended in the third quarter after Roosevelt players hurled anti-Semitic slurs at their opponents. The slurs reportedly included, “I support Hamas, you damn Jew.”
Roosevelt players reportedly continued to exchange words with Leffell during the timeout, prompting security to intervene and eventually escort Leffell off the court. Roosevelt himself withdrew from the contest.
48-year-old woman dies 'hanging over iron gate' and 'impaled' in leg at Philly Sports Complex bar: report
Robyn Bosworth, a Leffel player who wrote about the incident in the school newspaper of which she is the editor-in-chief, said the first half was a “slightly hostile environment, with a significant increase in the number of jabs and comments thrown at players on the team.” . More than anything I've experienced in the past. ”
Mr Williams said he did not condone such language “at all”.
Basketball hoops, nets and backboards during the Desert Classic between the Florida Atlantic Owls and Arizona Wildcats at T-Mobile Arena on December 23, 2023 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“My players and the people who know me know that I don't believe that, and I never have,” said Williams, who was a correctional officer for nearly 30 years.
Both teams lined up to shake hands as the game ended early, Bosworth said.
“Despite our conflicting feelings about his practice, all members of my team acted with respect and dignity and lined up to shake his hand,” she wrote. “But being forced to shake hands with people who expressed such hatred and say, 'Good game,' didn't sit well with me afterwards.”
FOX News' Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital X sports broadcast and subscribe Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.
