Colorado basketball coach suspended after hanging Palestinian flag during game

Disturbingly, some of the parents of Lotus players followed the coach’s lead by refusing to shake hands or communicate with Jewish players, their parents, and fans.

By Jewish Breaking News

A high school in Colorado is facing severe backlash after its basketball coach hung a Palestinian flag during a game against a religious Jewish school and refused to shake hands with their coach.

Following the game last Wednesday between Lotus School for Excellence and Denver Academy of Torah (DAT), Brandon Rattiner of the Jewish Community Relations Council expressed disappointment about the open antisemitism on display.

“I think everybody in the Jewish community is very aware that there’s been a rising tide of antisemitism since October 7,” he told the New York Post on behalf of the Jewish school. “Holding Jewish people accountable for the state actions of Israel is a textbook form of antisemitism.”

Disturbingly, some of the parents of Lotus players followed the coach’s lead by refusing to shake hands or communicate with Jewish players, their parents, and fans. The school immediately suspended ‘Coach O’ for his actions during the game, according to the report.

“The key issue here is when the coach refuses to engage with a Jewish coach and Jewish students simply because they are Jewish, or holds them personally accountable for a conflict started – not by Israel, by the way – thousands and thousands of miles away,” noted Rattiner.

“I think it’s really important to note that schools decided to treat this as a moment to teach and a moment to educate and a moment to bring people together rather than a moment to divide.”