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Yonkers school fires basketball coach, kicks player off team after antisemitic incident during game: report

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Yonkers school fires basketball coach, kicks player off team after antisemitic incident during game: report

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A Yonkers high school girls basketball coach was fired and a player on the team was kicked off the squad as a result of an antisemitic incident that occurred during a game against a Jewish high school, city officials told the New York Post.

A game between the Leffell School, a private Jewish school in Hartsdale, New York, and Roosevelt High School, a public school in Yonkers, ended early on Thursday after Roosevelt players said antisemitic slurs at their opponents. Some of those slurs allegedly included, “I support Hamas, you f—ing Jew.”

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Referees and security guards were needed to break up the game, with some escorting the Leffell School players off the court. 

A Yonkers high school girls basketball coach was fired and a player on the team was kicked off the squad as a result of an antisemitic incident that occurred during a game against a Jewish high school, city officials told the New York Post. (iStock)

Yonkers Public Schools interim Superintendent Dr. Luis Rodriguez and Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano issued a joint statement about the situation.

“The Yonkers Public Schools, along with the City of Yonkers, sincerely apologize to the students and community of The Leffell School for the painful and offensive comments made to their women’s basketball team during a recent game with Roosevelt High School,” the statement said via the Post. 

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NEW YORK HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL GAME CALLED AFTER ANTISEMITIC SLURS TOWARD PLAYERS: REPORT

“Collectively, we do not and will not tolerate hate speech of any kind from our students and community,” the statement reads further.

“The antisemitic rhetoric reportedly made against the student athletes of The Leffell School are abhorrent, inappropriate and not in line with the values we set forth for our young people,” the statement continues.

According to Leffell player Robin Bosworth, who wrote about the incident in the school newspaper of which she is editor-in-chief, the first half was a “somewhat hostile environment, with substantially more jabs and comments thrown at the players on our team than what I have experienced in the past.”

Some players for Leffell started to get injured in the third quarter, which Bosworth says happened due to Roosevelt’s “physical style of play.”

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“At the end of the quarter, players on the opposing team started shouting ‘Free Palestine’ and other antisemitic slurs and curses at us,” Bosworth wrote. “Attacking a team because of their school’s religious association is never acceptable, but especially due to the current war in Israel and the world’s rise in antisemitism, this felt extremely personal to me and many members of my team.”

According to Leffell player Robin Bosworth, the first half of the game was a “somewhat hostile environment, with substantially more jabs and comments thrown at the players on our team than what I have experienced in the past.” (Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

After Leffell players began walking off the court during a time-out about an hour in, coaches from both sides reportedly began talking to each other and then to the referees who were calling the game.

While that was happening, Roosevelt players allegedly continued to have words with Leffell players, and security needed to step in. A school spokesperson told the Post that Roosevelt agreed to a voluntary forfeit and the game concluded.

Bosworth said both teams lined up to shake hands at the premature end of the game.

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“Despite our conflicting feelings about his practice, every member of my team acted with respect and class and lined up to shake their hands,” she wrote. “However, being forced to shake hands with and say, ‘Good game’ to people who had expressed such hatred did not sit right with me afterwards.”

After Leffell players began walking off the court during a time-out about an hour in, coaches from both sides reportedly began talking to each other and then to the referees who were calling the game. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Roosevelt High Athletic Director Kyle Calabro apologized to Leffell Head of School Michael Kay, with the latter hearing from the former that “the follow-up would be swift and appropriate.”

Fox News’ Joe Morgan contributed to this report.

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Auburn fans shower officials with debris after wild buzzer-beater gets overturned

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Auburn fans shower officials with debris after wild buzzer-beater gets overturned

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A chaotic scene unfolded at Auburn University on Tuesday night as a wild buzzer-beater was waved off well after the Tigers had celebrated on their own court.

With 0.6 seconds remaining and Auburn trailing 90-88, KeShawn Murphy, somehow left wide open, caught an inbounds pass and nailed a long 3-pointer for what was thought to be the game-winner.

However, officials went to the scorer’s table to review the play, which was awfully close.

 

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Auburn Tigers players watch the replay of a possible game-winning shot that was called back as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Ultimately, officials ruled that the shot had not gone off in time, ending the Tigers’ celebration and prompting one from Texas A&M.

The officials quickly made themselves public enemy number one and were showered with debris from fans on their way off the court. At least one referee needed his head to be covered.

One fan sitting courtside even turned his back and threw his drink over his shoulder aimed at an official.

“They didn’t say a word. They just said it was no good and ran off the floor. I probably wouldn’t want to talk to me in that moment, anyway,” Auburn head coach Steven Pearl, who took over for his dad, Bruce this season, said after the game. “So, I get why they’d run away from me. Just from the angles that I saw, it looked like it was off his fingers. But that was just, I don’t have all the same angles they have.”

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Texas A&M Aggies players celebrate victory as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (Jake Crandall/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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It is now six losses in their last 10 games for the Tigers after starting 5-1. They lost in the Final Four last year to Florida, who won the national championship over Houston.

Auburn (9-6, 0-2) led 47-37 at halftime and extended the margin to 61-45 with 12:29 remaining.

KeShawn Murphy of the Auburn Tigers reacts after officials ruled that his last-second shot did not beat the shot clock to win the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena on Jan. 6, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama. (Stew Milne/Getty Images)

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Texas A&M answered with a steady run fueled by outside shooting, taking its first lead at 8:42 when Pop Isaacs buried a 3-pointer. The Aggies followed with back-to-back triples from Isaacs to open a five-point cushion that they would not relinquish, by the skin of their teeth.

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Former NFL player Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after accident on his ranch

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Former NFL player Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after accident on his ranch

Two-time All-American wide receiver and prominent Outdoors Channel host Jordan Shipley is in critical condition after an accident on his ranch in Texas, his family said in a statement.

Shipley, 40, was described as stable after remaining hospitalized Tuesday night in Austin. The statement said a machine that he was operating near his hometown of Burnet caught fire. The former Texas great suffered “severe burns on his body.”

Shipley abruptly retired in 2012 after three NFL seasons primarily because of persistent concussion issues and chronic knee problems. He quickly transitioned to television shows that showcased his passion for deer hunting, co-hosting “The Bucks of Tecomate” and “Tecomate Whitetail Nation.”

“It was not hard at all,” Shipley said at the time of retiring at 27. “Only because I never saw myself as a football player first. Don’t get me wrong, I worked my tail off for football and I loved it but never saw that as my whole identity because I had such a big background in outdoors. Really, with this opportunity I had I was actually pretty excited about moving forward.”

Although he enjoyed a strong rookie season with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010 with 52 receptions for 600 yards and three touchdowns, he is best remembered as a record-setting player at Texas.

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Shipley starred as a receiver and a kick returner from 2006 to 2009, setting program single-season records in 2009 with 116 receptions and 1,489 yards. He also remains the career leader for receptions with 248 and ranks second in career receiving yards with 3,191, behind Roy Williams. Shipley also returned four punts or kickoffs for touchdowns.

After being drafted in the third round by the Bengals, he became one of the most popular players with Cincinnati fans, and his No. 11 jersey was worn by thousands. After a debilitating knee injury early in the 2011 season, he was never the same player, and he had short stints with Tampa Bay and Jacksonville before retiring.

According to his family, Jordan was operating a machine at his ranch when it caught fire. He managed to free himself from the machine, but “not before sustaining severe burns on his body in the process.” Jordan was airlifted to the hospital in Austin.

“He was able to get to one of his workers on the ranch, who drove him to a local hospital. He was then care-flighted to Austin, where he remains in critical but stable condition,” the statement said.

Shipley’s younger brother, former Texas wide receiver Jaxon Shipley, 33, asked for prayers in a statement on Instagram: “Please pray for full healing and no infections or other issues on his road to recovery. I don’t want to get into all the details, other than his life was spared today by the grace of God and the sheer will to live. I believe prayer is effective so I’m asking anyone and everyone to lift Jordan up in prayer.”

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Tom Izzo explodes on former Michigan State player in wild scene: ‘What the f— are you doing?’

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Tom Izzo explodes on former Michigan State player in wild scene: ‘What the f— are you doing?’

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Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has been known to get visibly angry with his players over his years in East Lansing, but what happened Monday night against USC was different.

Izzo let loose his frustration on a former player.

During the Spartans’ blowout over the Trojans, 80-51, Izzo was spotted unloading on former Michigan State center Paul Davis, who played for the team from 2002-06, after he caused a disturbance in the stands.

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Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts to a call during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena Jan. 2, 2026, in Lincoln, Neb. (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

Referees pointed out Davis, who was a spectator, from his courtside seat after he was among many in the building who disagreed with a call in the second half. Davis stood up and shouted at referee Jeffrey Anderson.

Anderson responded with a loud whistle, stopping play and pointing at Davis. Then, Anderson went over to Izzo to explain what happened, and the 70-year-old coach went ballistic.

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First, he was motioning toward Davis, and it was clear he asked his former center, “What the f— are you doing?”

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Davis was met by someone asking him to leave his seat, and that’s when Izzo went nuts. He shouted “Get out of here!” at Davis, who appeared to gesture toward Izzo, perhaps in apology for disturbing the game.

Izzo was asked about Davis’ ejection after the game.

“What he said, he should never say anywhere in the world,” Izzo responded when asked what happened. “That ticked me off. So, just because it’s 25, 20 years later, I’m going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. And you know what he’ll say? ‘I screwed up, coach. I’m sorry.’”

Izzo quickly clarified that what Davis said “wasn’t something racial” and “it wasn’t something sexual.”

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo protests a call that benefited the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center Dec. 2, 2025. (Dale Young/Imagn Images)

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“It was just the wrong thing to say, and I’ll leave it at that.”

Davis later met with reporters Tuesday, apologizing for his actions.

“I’m not up here to make any excuses. I’m up here to take accountability, to own it,” Davis said. It was a mistake that will never happen again. It was a mistake that’s not me, but, unfortunately, last night it was.”

Izzo said Davis was one of his “favorite guys” during his time playing for the Spartans. He had a breakout sophomore campaign with 15.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and two assists per game in 30 starts for Izzo during the 2003-04 season.

Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena Jan. 2, 2026, in Lincoln, Neb.  (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

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In his senior year, Davis averaged 17.5 points, a career-high, in 33 games.

He was taken in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Davis played just four seasons in the league, his final one with the Washington Wizards.

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