FAIRFIELD – Fairfield Prep High School and public officials have condemned online antisemitic slurs made by some of their students anonymously against the New Canaan High School hockey team before their CIAC Division I state championship game at Quinnipiac University on March 23.
Additionally, Fairfield Prep has told parents it has launched an investigation and are working closely with local authorities and promise a zero-tolerance response. Community leaders are calling for education and dialogue to uphold respect and prevent future incidents.
The issue came to light when The New York Times published a story over the weekend about the incident in which they reported the school had disciplined those students. However, the school in a Facebook post reported that despite a media report to the contrary (which we have sought to correct), no members of the hockey team were cited for discipline in this matter.
New Canaan state Rep. Tom O’Dea issued a statement on Facebook April 4 calling the slurs “outrageous expressions of bigotry that have no place in Connecticut sports.”
“Targeting Jewish students with demeaning stereotypes and imagery is especially alarming at a time when antisemitic incidents are at historically elevated levels in our state and across the country,” O’Dea said. “Hate on social media does not stay online; it creates a hostile environment for students, normalizes prejudice in the stands and the classroom and undermines the safety and belonging every child is entitled to feel.”
Fairfield First Selectperson Christine Vitale said the Town of Fairfield stands with Fairfield Prep and community partners in condemning all forms of antisemitism, hate speech, racism and discrimination.
“We thank Fairfield Prep for taking swift action in addressing this issue with their students, New Canaan High School and the CIAC (Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference) leadership” Vitale stated. “Antisemitism should never be dismissed as ‘trash talk’ between competing fans. We need to call it what it is – the deliberate targeting of our Jewish friends and neighbors.
“Even when it is in the context of banter between sporting rivals, it is wrong, absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the Town of Fairfield.”
In its message to parents and the public, Fairfield Prep, a feeder school for Fairfield University, the school’s President Christian Cashman and Principal Timothy Dee reminded all about the school’s mission.
“As we shared with the student body in all-school assemblies last week (March 27), via letter to our Prep parents, in public statements to the press, in direct conversations with New Canaan High School leadership, and with other community leaders: Fairfield Prep condemns all forms of antisemitism, hate speech, racism and discrimination. It has no place in our Jesuit, Catholic school, no place in our brotherhood, and no place in an Ignatian community that dedicates itself to the dignity of every person. It cannot and will not be tolerated.”
This is not who we are, what we stand for, or what we teach. So, we ask ourselves, if our dedication to formation is true, as we know it to be, how then can acts of such painful intolerance occur in Prep’s name? It happens because of our shared human frailty, especially among our young people who fail even as we seek to form them in our Ignatian way.”
As for the investigation into the slurs that were made, the school made a point that it involved only a small number of students.
“We want to reiterate that our ongoing investigation indicates this recent incident involved a small number of individuals within our student body who acted anonymously on social media,” they wrote. “Our standards are high, our policies are clear, and we follow them when they are violated.
“We once again invite our parents, alumni and friends to partner with us in this monumental effort to form our young men in character, conscience, and compassion. This moment must serve as an opportunity for critical moral and intellectual growth and restorative action. As we return to Prep following the Easter holiday, we will certainly reach out to the community once again in solidarity and to further action.”
By the way, New Canaan defeated Fairfield Prep, 3-1, to claim the title – its first in 54 years.
