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Smithfield’s response to anti-Semitic hazing incident is ‘egregious,’ Jewish Alliance says

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Smithfield’s response to anti-Semitic hazing incident is ‘egregious,’ Jewish Alliance says


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The mother of a Jewish football player told the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island that five Smithfield football players, all seniors, trapped her son in a bathroom and sprayed him with Lysol while yelling anti-Jewish slurs, according to a representative of the alliance.

The Alliance staff member, Stephanie Hague, says the woman told her the entrapment involved a chair pushed against a door, but it wasn’t clear from the woman’s comments if her son was trapped in a bathroom, or in a particular area of a bathroom.

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Hague said she could not further clarify the specific circumstances of the Lysol-spraying but as she understood it, the player was exposed to the spray during the entrapment and other hazing.

Did the Smithfield football players use anti-Semitic slurs?

“The reason I am not sharing the slurs is because they are, one, not suitable for print, but also because there is some dispute of exactly the phrasing,” said the Alliance’s president, Adam Greenman.

“But we do know that they were anti-Jewish, anti-Semitic slurs and the incident was witnessed by 20 other football players,” Greenman added.

Hague said that Greenman’s comment is “correct.” She emphasized that she is not a lawyer or police investigator, but as part of her job at the Alliance, she responds to matters of antisemitism.

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Greenman said the organization has talked to the student’s mother and to others who witnessed what took place.

“We feel fairly confident that we understand the details of what happened,” he said.

Alliance putting public focus on district’s response to the incident

Hague and Greenman made those comments on Monday, Oct. 27 as the student’s mother and the Jewish Alliance made plans to bring attention to the situation at an anticipated meeting of Smithfield’s school committee.

Both the Alliance and the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center have condemned the school district’s handling of the incident, asserting that five seniors were initially kicked off the team but were then reinstated to the team on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

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The players’ return to the team was in time to participate in Friday night’s game against Exeter-West Greenwich/Prout, which the team won 16-6.

On Thursday, Oct. 23, the school district’s Superintendent Dawn Bartz, gave a one-sentence statement in an email seeking comment on the situation: “The disciplinary process has concluded, and we will not be discussing details involving students.”

“The fact that the school district has reversed course on consequences for the students is just egregious,” Greenman said.

“We all know that if a consequence is taken away for something like this, it encourages that behavior moving forward,” he said. “We’re very concerned that the students involved were reinstated. We’re very concerned that it seems like the school district is not taking this seriously.”

Meeting canceled hours after Jewish Alliance encourages public attendance

Later on Monday, it became clear that Smithfield Town Council had canceled its Tuesday, Oct. 28, joint session with the School Committee.

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An executive assistant to the town manager in Smithfield confirmed that the meeting had been canceled, noting that there are plans to reschedule the meeting, but no date has been set at this time.

The town clerk later said that based on the volume of queries from members the public and news media, the town determined it needed to move the joint meeting from the Town Council’s chambers to a larger venue, according to Donna Corrao, who is an executive assistant for Town Manager Robert W. Seltzer.

The cancellation came hours after the Alliance sent a press release encouraging the public to attend the meeting to “express your outrage and desire to act” after a “horrific antisemitic hazing incident at Smithfield High School.”

The Alliance had encouraged people to:

  • Attend in support and solidarity
  • Share brief testimony if you have a strong connection to Smithfield or a compelling personal experience to contribute
  • Hold signs and wear pins, which would have been available at the meeting.



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Live updates from Rhode Island vs. Providence men’s basketball

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Live updates from Rhode Island vs. Providence men’s basketball


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PROVIDENCE — Rivalry week in Rhode Island continues.

It’s the best week of the year as the state’s college basketball teams play each other and no matchup is bigger than Rhode Island vs. Providence. The Providence Journal’s Jacob Rousseau and Bill Koch are downtown today to cover the day.

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Tip is set for noon at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.

It’s the 135th matchup between the in-state rivals with Providence leading the all-time series, 77-57. Rhode Island won last year’s game, 69-63, in Kingston. Rhode Island hasn’t won in Providence since Dec. 7, 2002, when it captured a 73-71 victory.

Follow along for live updates from the game!

Live updates from Rhode Island vs. Providence men’s basketball

11 a.m. — Both teams have taken the courts for warm ups now. Students have started to trickle into their sections in the AMP’s endzones. We’re just over an hour before tip in this rivalry matchup.

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10:36 a.m. — Providence’s Duncan Powell is on the court warming up with a mask. The forward hasn’t played since Nov. 14 with a facial injury. Kim English said, after the Friars’ win vs. FDU, that Powell could be available today.

9:45 a.m. — We’re here bright and early at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Broadcast crew from TNT — operating as TruTV this afternoon — getting settled.

Officials for this matchup are Lamar Simpson, Greg Evans and Tim Clougherty. Simpson and Clougherty were on the whistle Friday night at Pizzitola Center, a 75-56 win for Brown over Bryant. Evans has been off since Wednesday night, a Sacred Heart road win at Mount St. Mary’s.



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Rhode Island fans celebrate 2026 World Cup draw at local watch party | ABC6

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Rhode Island fans celebrate 2026 World Cup draw at local watch party | ABC6


PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — Friday was one of the coldest days of the year, but much of Rhode Island was focused on warmer days and soccer.

Friday afternoon, fans learned which teams will be coming to New England for the 2026 World Cup group stage in June.

“I’ve been to World Cups in the past,” Newport resident Timmy May said. “I went to see soccer games in Mexico in ‘86. I saw games in 1990 in Italy.”

And now, May will have the chance to see the World Cup in his own backyard.

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Months ahead of the first matches in June, Rhode Island soccer fans gathered at their home club’s stadium in Pawtucket.

RIFC hosted a watch party as FIFA announced which teams will be coming to the United States — and New England.

With Providence set to host at least one team, residents of the Capital City made their pitch to potential visitors.

“It’s a great culture, the food’s amazing,” Providence resident Jose Olivences said. “We’ve got every culture, very diverse internationally. When we go out of state, we don’t find any food that compares to Rhode Island.”

Brazil, England, and France are among the teams set to play at Gillette Stadium.

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  • Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
  • Group I: France, Senegal, Winner Play-off 2, Norway
  • Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama

“My parents are from Haiti,” Providence resident Akisch Lenus said. “So I’m excited. That country has been through so much, so to see them in the World Cup is amazing.”

Teams will now sort out where they’ll stay and practice when the World Cup arrives in June.

“I’m stoked. I’m super excited,” Pawtucket resident Jason McLaughlin said. “I can’t believe that it’s actually going to be at Gillette. That’s a big deal.”

Bryant University in Smithfield is one of the FIFA-approved options for base camps.





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Toy giant Hasbro accelerates Boston move, begins hiring for new office – The Boston Globe

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Toy giant Hasbro accelerates Boston move, begins hiring for new office – The Boston Globe


The company — whose iconic brands include Monopoly, Scrabble, My Little Pony, Nerf, and Potato Head — had long been headquartered in Pawtucket, and will soon relocate operations to 400 Summer St. in Boston’s Seaport District, a 630,000 square-foot, 16-story laboratory building.

A view of 400 Summer St. in Boston.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

The new space will be home to at least 700 full-time employees, who are expected to fully transition from Rhode Island to Boston by the end of 2026.

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A hiring push for the Boston office began in September, just after the toy maker announced it would leave its Pawtucket offices at 1027 Newport Ave. Some of the Boston postings were tagged as “company priority,” signaling urgency to fill those roles.

Hasbro’s relocation underscores the powerful allure of Boston’s vast talent pool and healthy corporate ecosystem. While Hasbro’s relocation will force Rhode Island to grapple with losing tax revenue, Pawtucket has long struggled to reinvent its downtown, which has plenty of vacant buildings, homelessness, and underperforming schools. Hasbro still owns its aging offices on Newport Avenue, and it’s unclear whether the company plans to lease or sell them, and when.

Andrea Snyder and Bertie Thomson, two spokespeople for Hasbro, could not be reached for comment. The company has not responded to state or city officials either.

“The State and City Commerce departments, in partnership with Governor [Dan] McKee’s office and Mayor [Don] Grebien’s office, have reached out to Hasbro numerous times – all calls, emails, and letters have gone unanswered,” said Grebien spokesperson Jennifer Almeida, in a statement to the Globe. “While we recognize that Hasbro is a private company and made the decision to leave, the lack of communication is frustrating.”

“We hope that Hasbro will work with us to ensure their employees are taken care of and that the property remains viable for future development,” Almeida said.

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Hasbro has been located in Rhode Island since its founding in 1923 by the Hassenfeld family. One of the few publicly traded companies based in Rhode Island, it employs roughly 5,500 people worldwide.


Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.





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