Fallout Grows After 'Troubling' Antisemitism Halts HS Basketball Game

This article was updated at 9:39 a.m.

YONKERS, NY — As fallout continues from an apparent display of antisemitism at a high school sporting event, a Yonkers girls' high school basketball coach and one of the team’s players have been dismissed.

The game was played Thursday between the girls’ varsity teams from The Leffell School, a private Jewish school in Hartsdale, and Roosevelt High School Early College Studies, a public school in Yonkers. The game, however, ended early after the competition turned into something else entirely.

Yonkers Public Schools Interim Superintendent Luis Rodriguez and Mayor Mike Spano on Sunday issued a joint statement strongly condemning the incident.

"The Yonkers Public Schools along with the City of Yonkers sincerely apologize to the students and community of The Leffell School for the painful and offensive comments made to their women’s basketball team during a recent game with Roosevelt High School- Early College Studies," the two officials said in the statement. "Collectively, we do not and will not tolerate hate speech of any kind from our students and community. The antisemitic rhetoric reportedly made against the student athletes of The Leffell School are abhorrent, inappropriate and not in line with the values we set forth for our young people."

Yonkers Public Schools said that an initial investigation into the incident involving game officials, coaches, students and school officials from The Leffell School seemed to back up the allegations of hateful conduct.

"After a thorough review of videos taken at the game and interviews with those who witnessed the incident, the Yonkers Public Schools dismissed the coach and one player from the Roosevelt basketball team," the statement said. "The investigation is ongoing. Should the District determine other students were involved in the incident, further action would be taken by the school District where appropriate."

Officials did not identify the coach or the player.

The top school official and the city's highest elected leader said that, in addition to holding those responsible accountable, there will be immediate action to learn from the incident and determine the root causes.

"Along with Mayor Spano’s convening of religious, educational and civic leaders, Yonkers Public Schools also will administer further counseling and guided training sessions amongst the school community so to prevent this from happening again."

Meanwhile, Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said in a Patch Community Contributor column that he was sending a letter to the state Board of Regents demanding they investigate the 'very troubling anti-semitic incident."

"I plan to send the following to the New York State Board of Regents regarding troubling anti-semtic conduct by a few members of the Roosevelt High School basketball team that impacted high school girl team members from the Leffell School in Hartsdale," Feiner wrote. "I am asking the State Board of Regents to review, and expand, where appropriate, guidelines for Codes of Conduct required by the NYS Education Law for school districts and schools as to appropriate diisciplinary actions for improper behavior on school grounds."

Gov. Kathy Hochul also took to social media this weekend to condemn the apparent hate-based incident at the high school competition.

"A high school basketball game," Hochul wrote in a post on X, referring to the incident. "This cannot be who we are as New Yorkers. No one should ever be subjected to antisemitism or any kind of hate."

Westchester County Executive George Latimer said that he will be asking the Human Rights Commission to investigate the incident, with a response to follow. He added that "Westchester does not tolerate hate of any type: racism, anti-Semitism, prejudice expressed toward Women, LGBTQ individuals, Muslims, Asian Americans, Hispanics, the disabled. We are stronger because of our diversity and every group must respect the integrity of every other group."

Congressman Jamaal Bowman, who represents New York's 16th Congressional District, lamented that an event intended to foster community instead became a venue of hate.

"There is no place for antisemitism on the court or any other place in our society. Language like this is always unacceptable," Bowman said in a statement released on Sunday. "Sports is a place where we come together in friendly competition to build connections to one another and our character."

Section One of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, which sanctioned the game, issued a statement on Sunday promising, "this kind of behavior will not be tolerated."

"Section One is dismayed to learn of the reports of antisemitic events at a girls basketball contest between Roosevelt High School and The Leffell School on Thursday, Jan. 4," the association said in part. "Reports of antisemitic slurs and hostile language directed toward Leffell players that caused the contest to be cut short go against both the stated values and policies of the Section ... Section One firmly believes that the values inherent throughout a student’s athletic experience can only exist in settings absent of discrimination and hate."

The Section One Athletic Council and Executive Committee vowed to continue to monitor the situation and "stand ready" to support both schools involved.