Smithfield High School is facing backlash from parents and community members after it was revealed that football players accused of hazing a freshman were reinstated after being suspended for the remainder of the season.
In a statement, the president of The Jewish Alliance of Rhode Island, Adam Greenman, said that finding out about the accused being reinstated shows that Smithfield does not take antisemitism seriously at all.
Smithfield High School Under Fire
Additionally, the parents of the victim said that their son walked into football practice on Wednesday and came face-to-face with the alleged assailants. The couple added that they did not receive any notification from the school or the athletics department about the development.
When contacted, Smithfield Superintendent Dawn Bartz said that the disciplinary process for the alleged assailants has concluded. The statement added, "And we will not be discussing details involving students."
Greenman argued that he had been working with the freshman victim and his family following the incident. He was being assisted by members of the Smithfield school district to respond to the alleged hazing, which reportedly occurred in September, according to Turnto10.
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He added that, from their understanding, five members of the school's football team locked the Jewish freshman student inside the bathroom. They then sprayed Lysol into where he was and yelled antisemitic epithets at him.
An investigation was later conducted by the school district, and the five senior student-athletes who were involved had their seasons cut short. Then, the district called on the Alliance's partner organization, the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center, to host sensitivity training for both students involved and the rest of the school community.
Reinstatement of Students Involved in Alleged Hazing
In a joint statement, the alliance and the Holocaust center agreed that the administration of the school went back on the disciplinary actions that they previously shared with them. They added that they are demanding a formal apology from Bartz for the way the situation was handled, The Providence Journal reported.
They said that administrators should understand that reversing consequences sends a dangerous message, which is that similar behavior will be tolerated. The joint statement noted that it is times like these that remind the public of how vulnerable a minority community can feel.
Before the reinstatement of the students involved in the alleged hazing, Bartz said that their investigation uncovered what he called "inappropriate conduct among a small number of students" who were part of the high school football team, as per WPRI.
