High school officials in Smithfield, R.I., are facing scrutiny over discipline applied to football players involved in the alleged hazing of a Jewish student in September, with suspensions of the players ending in time for the state playoffs.
As reported by NBC affiliate WJAR in Providence, once the incident was first reported to Smithfield administrators, the five student-athletes were set to miss the remainder of the season. The alleged hazing involved entrapping a student in a rest room and spraying Lysol at the individual, who is Jewish.
Nazi Germany used sealed rooms, often purported to be shower facilities, to expose millions of Jews to fatal amounts of toxic gas starting in 1939 and throughout World War II.
Wendy Joering, executive director of the Sandra Borstein Holocaust Education Center, told WJAR that the five suspended Smithfield High School football athletes were supposed attend a Holocaust education program lasting the entire the year, but Smithfield leaders allowed the players to return to the field after just one session.
When asked multiple times to answer questions about why the players were reinstated, Smithfield superintendent Dawn Bartz responded with a one-sentence statement: "The disciplinary process has concluded and we will not be discussing details involving students."
"It basically says acts of antisemitism are perfectly okay in Smithfield, and that's not something any school district or any person should tolerate," said Adam Greenman, president of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, told WJAR.
“From our understanding, five members of the football team, locked the Jewish freshman student in the bathroom, and sprayed Lysol into the bathroom and yelled antisemitic epithets at the student,” Greenman said, as reported by Brobible.
Joering told WJAR that she met with Bartz, Smithfield athletic director Glenn Castiglia, and Smithfield High School principal Kristin Ward on Oct. 16, presenting the district with a year-long education plan.
"After the meeting, Joering felt that Bartz and her team were very enthusiastic to begin promptly and emphasized that a culture change of the entire school was needed," reported WJAR's Erin Coogan.
On Oct. 21, Joering visited the school with the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who shared stories of surviving the Auschwitz concentration camp and being a victim of Dr. Josef Mengele, Coogan reported. After the meeting, Joering gave the five suspended student-athletes a copy of the book "Maus" and a worksheet pertaining to the book. The next day, Joering learned that the players had been reinstated, even though the program was supposed to last a year.
Community members voiced their concerns over the handling of the situation with WJAR throughout last week, Coogan reported.
"The timing of the suspension reversal is curious. Smithfield will be gearing up for the high school football playoffs in early November, though it’s not immediately clear the impact those players will have moving forward," wrote Brobible's Jacob Elsey on Monday, adding that Smithfield currently holds a 5-2 record. "Smithfield won a state championship in 2022. It came a game away from a second title game appearance in three seasons last year. The program will now look to make another playoff run with the re-addition of the five seniors."
