Who is Tim McFarland? Brooklyn High School football coach resigns after team uses 'Nazi' as a play call
BROOKLYN, OHIO: Tim McFarland, the head coach of the Brooklyn High School football team, had to resign amid allegations of bigotry.
In a game against Beachwood, the coach and his team from Ohio repeatedly used the term 'Nazi' as a game call. According to a survey conducted in 2011, Beachwood is a suburb in Cleveland that has about 90 percent Jewish population.
Beachwood Schools Superintendent Robert Hardis stated that the Brooklyn team stopped using the term in the second half of the game after Beachwood threatened to pull its players from the field.
Several Brooklyn players, however, continued to hurl racial slurs at Beachwood players during the game, the statement read.
Result of using ‘Nazi’ as Play Call
McFarland submitted the letter of his resignation on September 25.
According to a statement released by the Brooklyn Schools Superintendent Ted Caleris, McFarland has expressed "his deepest regret."
Caleris and the school have apologized for the "hurtful and harmful speech" that will "not be tolerated."
Brooklyn High School has been contacted by the Anti-Defamation League of Ohio, stated Calaris. He hopes to use the organization as a resource going forward from the incident.
The two school districts involved are in close contact and Brooklyn has been "appropriately concerned and apologetic," Robert Hardis confirmed in a statement.
"This is not the first time Beachwood student-athletes have been subjected to anti-Semitic and racist speech. We always hope it will be the last," he added.
Neither of the statements mentions disciplinary action toward the players involved.
Rise of anti-semitism in the United States
A study conducted by Tel Aviv University's Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the US-based Anti-Defamation League has shown that antisemitism in the United States has risen significantly in recent years, with no signs of declining.
The number of anti-Semitic incidents has risen by 35 percent from 2021 to 2022.
Tim McFarland’s reputation before the fateful game
McFarland was honored as a guest speaker at the annual Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Clinic in Columbus in 2022, according to a post on the school’s Facebook page.
The post read, "Coach McFarland accepted the head coach position at Brooklyn under tremendous adversity and led the Hurricanes to an overall 4-7 record which included the Hurricanes first berth in the OHSAA playoffs."
"He is an outstanding coach and role model for our football team and the Brooklyn Hurricanes are very fortunate to have him as our head coach. Hurricane Pride!"