Hockey season is ending early for two Massachusetts high schools after athletes were found committing what officials are calling anti-Semitic behavior.
According to the MetroWest Daily News, the parents of Marian/Keefe Tech hockey players were notified in writing that the season was cancelled after an investigation into student behavior.
“I am both saddened and disappointed to report that the Keefe Tech and Marian High investigations found both anti-Semitic and extremely derogatory behavior and actions have occurred among players on the team during the season,” wrote Snow. “Our investigation found that this was not an isolated instance or stand-alone event; instead, that this has been a pervasive issue with the team and that there has been an overall toxic and negative culture that has permeated the team dynamics.”
In conjunction with the season cancellation, students will undergo an “educational component” to help alleviate incidents in the future but Marian High School principal doesn’t believe a problem exists. In a statement to CBS Boston, Principal John Ermilio called the behavior ‘locker room jokes.’
“Behaviors such as these, even if intended only to be ‘locker room activity’ are in direct opposition to the mission statements of both Marian and Keefe,” Ermilio wrote in a letter to parents. He added that he has contacted the Boston chapter of the Anti-Defamation League and is currently planning the best way to educate students about their actions “in the near future.”