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NFL’s New York Jets falsely accused of firing Muslim head coach Robert Saleh for wearing Lebanon flag patch

Saleh was relieved of his position two days after the Jets lost to the Vikings 23-17 in Week 5, the team’s second straight loss.

By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner

The New York Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday morning, and anti-Israel voices, a sports radio host, and Islamic groups were quick to falsely accuse the National Football League team of firing him because of his Muslim faith and Lebanese heritage.

Jets owner Woody Johnson announced Saleh’s firing, and multiple sources told media outlets that Saleh was escorted out of the Jets’ facility by the team’s director of security after he was informed of the news, which a source described as protocol to ESPN.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) addressed what it called “unusual hostility” that Saleh faced by having to be escorted out of the Jets’ team building, but also suggested that Saleh was fired because at the Jets vs. Vikings game in London, England, on Sunday, Saleh wore a team sweatshirt that had a patch of a Lebanese flag on his arm.

CAIR took it one step further and even suggested that Johnson’s ties to the administration of former US President Donald Trump and “racially charged” comments he made in the past, which Johnson denied, may have also contributed to Saleh’s firing. Johnson served as US ambassador to the United Kingdom during the Trump administration.

“The report that Jets security physically escorted Saleh out of the building does raise concerns about the possible motive for such unusual hostility — especially given that Saleh wore a Lebanese flag pin at a game just days ago and that owner Woody Johnson is a former Trump administration official who has been accused of making racially charged remarks,” CAIR stated.

Sports radio personality Joe Beningo and anti-Israel activists on social media made similar false claims about Saleh’s firing and its ties to the patch he wore of the Lebanese flag.

However, Saleh — who was born in Dearborn, Michigan, after his parents were born in Lebanon — has worn the same patch multiple times in the past. Johnson has also made it clear that Saleh was fired as head coach of the Jets due to the team’s poor performance under his leadership.

Saleh was relieved of his position two days after the Jets lost to the Vikings 23-17 in Week 5, the team’s second straight loss. The Jets has lost three of their first five games of the NFL season.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was named the team’s interim coach for the remainder of the season. The move marks the third time in the history of the Jets franchise that it has changed head coaches mid-season.

Saleh was the first Muslim head coach in NFL history and is the fourth Arab-American head coach in history.

The patch of the Lebanese flag that Saleh wore on Sunday stirred controversy because of escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel the day after Hamas-led terrorists carried out a deadly rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month, and Israel recently launched a ground incursion into Lebanon, which it has since expanded.

The Israeli army said on Tuesday that about 180 rockets were launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel. While most were intercepted, two people were killed in the strikes in Kiryat Shmona and at least six were wounded in Haifa.

Saleh had worn the Lebanese flag patch on his arm in previous NFL games and for two weeks straight now, according to the New York Post.

One of his first appearances with the patch was at a game in late October 2023, which took place weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war but also not long after the NFL announced a heritage program in which players and coaching staff are encouraged to celebrate their “cultural origins” by wearing international flag decals and patches on helmets for the players and jackets for the coaches.

Johnson called the move to fire Saleh “my decision and mine alone.” He said he expects the team to perform better in a statement announcing Saleh’s firing.

“This was not an easy decision, but we are not where we should be given our expectations, and I believe now is the best time to move us in a different direction,” he said.

He added that he believes Ulbrich as interim coach “along with the coaches on this staff can get the most out of our talented team and attain the goals we established this offseason.”

At a Jets press conference on Tuesday, interim coach Ulbrich talked about the team “underperforming” recently. “We’re not playing to our potential,” he added. “We’re too talented to be putting the product we put out there the last couple of weeks.”

The Jets had a tumultuous 2023 season, finishing with only seven wins for a second consecutive season. Saleh finished 20-36 in his three-and-a-half years with the Jets and the team never reached the playoffs during his tenure.

There have also been reports of tension between Saleh and the team’s star quarterback, Super Bowl champion and four-time NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Aaron Rodgers.

Saleh released a statement on Wednesday, responding to his firing. He told the players:

“I truly love and appreciate every single one of you. The character of the men in the locker room made coaching you guys the ultimate privilege. Through all the ups and downs, each and every one of you showed up everyday and attacked every moment.”

The Jets have not won more than seven games since 2015, and the last time they made it to the playoffs was in 2010. Their only Super Bowl appearance was in 1968 when they beat the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III.