2 High School Basketball Coaches Fired for Antisemitism and Pro-Hamas flags: Denver

"Two coaches were wearing and displaying a keffiyeh and a Palestinian flag-scarf, which led to verbal altercations between both sides”

Screenshot taken of a public Facebook post that has since been deleted.

A Colorado School is facing backlash after their Palestinian baseball coach refused to shake hands with Jewish students on the opposing team, and another staffer also showed up to the Jewish school and decked out the rafters with keffiyehs and Palestinian flags with him.

The basketball game happened on the 22th of January, and many of my readers in the Denver area sent the story to me. Their —“Coach O”, also known as Samir Omar —arrived in a Lotus School uniform and keffiyeh has been fired (as well as Sami Jabai, another coach who wore a keffiyeh).

“The coaches were suspended for 1 day until the end of the investigation, and as of last Friday morning, January 24th, both were fired,” said Lotus School Executive Director Mehmet Nalcaci in an email he sent at 4:45pm EST Wednesday.

According to Lotus School executive director Mehmet Nalcaci, two coaches wore a keffiyeh and a Palestinian scarf flag, which may have triggered the events. In an interview Tuesday, he stressed that the schools share a desire to turn this into a learning opportunity instead of political referendum.

While this story has been riddled with accusations, parental infighting and some unsubstantiated claims that I need not mention here — the principal of Denver Torah Academy explained how he saw the situation.

“The incident occurred during an afterschool basketball game on the evening of January 22nd. Two coaches were wearing and displaying a keffiyeh and a Palestinian flag-scarf, which led to verbal altercations between both sides” he explained.

“As a public charter school, Lotus School for Excellence (LSE) does not encourage or tolerate the display of any political or religious symbols. In response, we took immediate action and suspended the high school basketball coach and his assistant, both of whom are hourly part-time staff and not full-time employees.”

“Following the incident, some parents from DAT [Denver Academy of Torah] shared their concerns on social media, leading to numerous emails and threats accusing LSE of being an antisemitic and racist school.”

“These accusations are completely untrue and go against our core values. At LSE, we actively promote inclusion and equity and participate in programs like the Anti-Defamation League's ‘No Place for Hate’ initiative to combat antisemitism and racism.”

Brandon Rattiner of the Jewish Community Relations Council in Colorado

Brandon Rattiner of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) added the following commentary.

“The key issue here is when the coach refuses to engage with a Jewish coach and Jewish students simply because they are Jewish or holding them personally accountable for a conflict started, not by Israel by the way, halfway across the world thousands and thousands of miles away,” he said in an interview.

“Holding Jewish people accountable for the state actions of Israel is a textbook form of antisemitism,” he added.

Free speech advocate Reema Wahdan argues that this type of political climate is stifling political speech and people’s First Amendment rights. Wahdan worried that firing baseball the coaches might backfire. There was no due process for the coaches who got fired, she argues.

“I urge Lotus School to reconsider the handling of this situation and to prioritize an equitable process. By providing the coaches the opportunity to share their accounts, the school can arrive at a resolution that upholds its commitment to transparency, respect, and accountability”

This report was brought to you by Toni Airaksinen, Senior Editor of Liberty Affair and a journalist based in Delray Beach, Florida. Follow her on Substack, on X @Toni_Airaksinen and on Instagram.