The coach of a Massachusetts high school football team was fired on March 24 after the team used anti-Semitic slurs to call plays during a March 12 football game. The terms Duxbury High School reportedly used included “Auschwitz,” “rabbi” and “dreidel.”
John Antonucci, Duxbury’s superintendent, said in a statement that the school has “has severed ties with Dave Maimaron as Head Football Coach.” The game scheduled for March 26 has also been indefinitely postponed.
Robert Trestan, director of Anti-Defamation League New England, said in a statement to the Journal, “We welcome Duxbury Public Schools’ independent investigation into the deeply troubling allegations of antisemitism at the Duxbury Football program. Accountability and transparency are critical as the community moves forward. We look forward to learning of the ensuing facts and information in this case. ADL is ready to partner with Duxbury officials as they begin a new chapter in their school community.”
Liora Rez, director of the Stop Antisemitism.org watchdog, also said in a statement to the Journal, “We are happy to see Duxbury administration ultimately fire Coach Dave Maimaron for his antisemitic lexicon. Sanitizing the Holocaust and its atrocities must never be tolerated in American schools.”
StandWithUs CEO and co-founder Roz Rothstein tweeted that “the story makes me sick to my stomach, and makes it clear that Holocaust education goes hand in hand with being proactive about the fight against rising antisemitism.”
This story makes me sick to my stomach, and makes it clear that Holocaust education goes hand in hand with being proactive about the fight against rising antisemitism. What we know about Duxbury football team’s Holocaust-related play calls @standwithus https://t.co/o0DWBiw4dd
— Roz Rothstein (@RozRothstein) March 24, 2021
Massachusetts State Senator Barry Feingold, a Democrat, sent a letter to the Duxbury football team on March 24 inviting them to meet with him. Feingold explained that he used to play football and that he had never heard “Auschwitz” used as a play-calling term before.
“Football has played an incredible role in my life and helped me become who I am today. I want that same continued opportunity for you as well,” Feingold wrote. “I’m not looking to villainize you; instead, I think this moment could be an important learning experience.”
Prior to his firing, Maimaron had issued an apology stating that the terms used were “careless, unnecessary and most importantly hurtful on its face.” Maimaron had been the coach of the team since 2005 and has led them to five High School Super Bowls.
