As the official investigation continues over alleged hateful remarks made during a girls’ high school basketball game, Congressman Jamaal Bowman urges for student support and “not to jump to conclusions.”
The game
A January 4th basketball game between the Roosevelt High School girls’ team ended prematurely when the opposing team from The Leffell School alleged being victims of antisemitic remarks. While the phrase, “Free Palestine” has been confirmed by the district, some of the other unsourced comments like, “I support HAMAS, you f***ing Jew,” remain, so far, only social media rumor.
In the urge to respond quickly to this incident, Mayor Mike Spano and the Yonkers Public School district suspended one RHS player and fired their coach, Bryan Williams, over the weekend. Though, on Monday when more of the investigation developed, the player’s suspension was rescinded.
Coach Williams, however, appeared in numerous interviews claiming the administration made him the “scapegoat.” He continues to assert that he did not hear any of the hateful remarks alleged in this incident.
Bowman backs investigation
While every area politician, including Bowman, initially reacted to the incident with stark condemnation of the Roosevelt student athletes’ actions, Bowman released a statement today urging a more measured and considerate response. The statement proposes “listening to one another and building community” in the district while letting the investigations proceed.
Read Representative Jamaal Bowman’s full remarks below.
Our number one priority should always be making sure that young people feel safe and protected at our schools and in our society. No student, regardless of background should have to answer for the tragic and cruel events unfolding in the Middle East. As this investigation continues, we must focus on building restorative school communities that can appropriately support our students through hard moments like these and let investigations take place before jumping to conclusions. With social media, our kids are consuming difficult information without guidance from parents or educators, and we must take this as a learning opportunity and ensure our kids are taught how to critically consume content. As an educator, I understand that young people will make mistakes, even very hurtful ones, but they should have the opportunity to learn and grow from them, and not have a mistake follow them throughout their lives. In this moment of intense trauma and pain, so many in our community feel unsafe. Fear makes it easy to become inward-facing and forget that the only way to eradicate hate is through love and connection. We must do the hard work of listening to one another and building community despite the forces that are driving us apart.
*Clarification: the original sentence ending, “…condemnation of the Roosevelt student athletes.” has been amended to “condemnation of the Roosevelt student athletes’ actions.” to more broadly cover the statements made by numerous elected officials.
