Nazi Salute Photo, Anti-Semitic Tweets, Cause Controversy For High School Girls Basketball Team
Three students on the Greely High School girls basketball team in Cumberland, Maine, were punished this week when a Nazi salute photo surfaced online.
Dan McKeone, the school’s principal and athletic director, said that the girl’s were disciplined for the photo but did not saw exactly what the punishment entailed.
McKeone said:
“…These events, while disturbing, also provide us with an opportunity to teach our children about tolerance and respect… We will be working with the team in order to help them gain a better understanding of the ramifications of incidents such as this. We will also been looking for additional opportunities to educate the greater school community…”
Emily Chaleff, executive director of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, agreed with McKeone saying that the school should use the Nazi salute photo as a teaching tool.
“When situations like this come up when students are using prejudiced and intolerant speech and actions, it shows that the school really needs to seriously institute anti-bias, anti-bullying education and curriculum.”
The three girls in the photo are all wearing school uniforms and, according to Pep Rally, one of the student’s was given the nickname Hitler.
The girl’s allegedly created the Nazi salute photo to intimate a Jewish teammate. The girl’s also sent out antisemitic on Twitter.
One tweet reads: “So Jewish to have prac on Christmas Eve day.”
Another adds: “If —- picked me up, she would’ve made me do sprints, then put me in a gas chamber.”
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only antisemitic incident this week. A student in the UK was punished this week for making the Nazi salute toward his teacher.
