Ohio High School Football Coach Resigns After He and His Team Use Antisemitic Slurs as Play Calls

The school's superintendent said their former head coach expressed "his deepest regret" over the incident in a statement issued to PEOPLE

A high school football coach in Ohio has resigned after his team reportedly used antisemitic slurs as play calls during a recent game at a rival school.

The incident occurred on Friday when coach Tim McFarland and his former Brooklyn City School football team visited Beachwood High School in a nearby Cleveland suburb, according to the New York Times.

Beachwood's superintendent Robert Hardis told the newspaper that Brooklyn City players and McFarland were repeatedly using the word "Nazi" as defensive play calls. Hardis said Beachwood's coach and athletic director threatened to pull the team out of the game during halftime.

According to Cleveland Jewish News, the population of the opposing team's town of Beachwood is close to 90% Jewish.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Hardis said the Brooklyn City players changed their calls, and McFarland promised he wouldn't use the word "Nazi" in the second half. However, Hardis claimed that the players continued to use a different racial slur as the game continued, but did not reveal the specific word.

In his statement, Hardis told the outlet, “To our knowledge, ‘Nazi’ was not used during the second half. Late in the game, it was also reported by our team that several Brooklyn City players used a racial slur freely throughout the night."

Related: High School Football Coach Arrested After Allegedly Punching Player

Brooklyn City won the game against Beachwood by a significant margin, 35-3.

Brooklyn City Schools superintendent Theodore Caleris issued a statement to PEOPLE on Wednesday announcing McFarland's resignation.

"The Brooklyn City Schools accepted the resignation of Head Football Coach Tim McFarland on Monday morning, effective immediately, in light of an incident where the coaching staff used a designated play-call referencing the word “Nazi” at this past Friday night’s football game with Beachwood High School."

Caleris' statement claimed the former head coach expressed "his deepest regret about the matter" and offered "his sincerest apologies" to the communities involved. "The Brooklyn City Schools echoes this regret, and apology as well," the statement continued.

“As stated, this hurtful and harmful speech will not be tolerated, in any form, by Brooklyn City Schools leadership,” Caleris's statement continued. “While to the district’s knowledge the language was not directed to any single individual, the Brooklyn City Schools acknowledges that using such offensive language in the first place was utterly and absolutely wrong.”

Caleris said in his statement that the school's community "is choosing to learn from this matter, and hopefully, grow as a result."

"Already, the Brooklyn City Schools has been contacted by the Anti-Defamation League of Ohio, who among others, we will hope to use as a resource for our school district going forward to promote understanding and tolerance."

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The Anti-Defamation League of Cleveland had strong words following the incident.

In a Facebook post, the organization said, "There is no room in sports for Holocaust references and racial slurs. Student athletes should be put in a position to best reflect their school's commitment to inclusive, fair play."

Beachwood Mayor Justin Berns issued a joint statement with the city council on Sunday, calling Brooklyn City's behavior a violation of "the norms and expectations of conduct that should be taught to every student," per the Times' report.

"We commend Beachwood's football team, which took the right action by calling out this behavior while continuing to hold themselves to high standards of conduct," the statement continued.

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