Fired Basketball Coach Says He's Being Scapegoated After Antisemitism Allegations

A former high school girls basketball coach in Yonkers claims that he's being used as a scapegoat after he got the axe as part of the fallout from some of his players allegedly hurling antisemitic comments at opponents from a private Jewish school.

Bryan Williams was the coach of Roosevelt High School's girls basketball team until last week. That was after Roosevelt's game against Leffell School — a private Jewish school — was canceled in the third quarter. The reason? Allegations of horrific antisemitic comments being aimed at Lefell's players by some Roosevelt players.

Of course, these reports came straight from players on the court who reported things being said like "Free Palestine" and “I support Hamas, you f--king Jew.”

Not much room for interpretation with that last one one. Just a vile thing to say.

That display, as you might expect, had repercussions. One such repercussion was that it cost Williams his job.

High School Basketball Coach Says He Didn't Hear The Alleged Antisemitic Remarks

However, he told The New York Post that he heard nothing of the sort that night and that he was being used as a scapegoat.

"I personally did not hear any of it on the court. I do not condone what was allegedly done … I do not condone that," Williams said. "I focus on my team and what we have to try to do to win and be successful."

“They needed a scapegoat, and I was it,” the former coach said. “They needed a fall guy.”

Did they? Or as the adult that is supposed to be playing a role in the molding of young minds, did you drop the ball somewhere along the line?

Williams says that the school treated him unfairly when he was fired on Sunday following the alleged incident. He also claimed that he had told his players to "act appropriately" against Leffell School.

He also said that upon hearing reports of his players' remarks, he told them to apologize. However, he says that the apology didn't happen because the game was canceled.

Williams wasn't alone in being excused from the team. One of his former players was also removed from the team.

The alleged incident caught a lot of attention, especially as we're seeing a startling rise in antisemitism around the country everywhere from Harvard to major cities to, allegedly, high school basketball courts.

Follow on X: @Matt_Reigle