An 8th-grade Colorado Jewish student was called a ‘stupid k***’ while being strangled by a laptop charging cord, in one of many antisemitic assaults by other students described in a Title VI complaint to Boulder Valley Public School District.
Colorado
MCU’s Captain America, Anthony Mackie, talks about filming “Elevation” in Colorado, Coach Prime and more
Anthony Mackie wants to get something off his chest before answering any questions.
“That Meow (Wolf Denver) museum is the craziest (stuff) I’ve ever seen in my life,” said the 46-year-old actor, unprompted, referring to the surreal installation just west of downtown.
That’s saying something, given Mackie’s career as an action hero and low-key heartthrob. As a veteran of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he’s finally making his film debut as the new Captain America in Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World” on Feb. 14, 2025 — following the groundwork laid by his 2021 Disney+ series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.”
More recently, Mackie’s been battling monsters in the post-apocalyptic thriller “Elevation,” which was shot mostly in Boulder and Golden and is in theaters now. He plays Will, a father desperate to find medical supplies for his ailing son. That forces him to descend the 8,000-foot-and-higher safety zone of the Rocky Mountains, and into the lower-elevation danger zone where vicious monsters roam free.
That danger zone? Boulder — which is rendered as an empty town just starting to be reclaimed by nature, following the disaster that violently erased most of the human race. The film co-stars Morena Baccarin (in arguably one of her best roles) as disillusioned scientist Nina, and Maddie Hasson as salty young traveler Katie. Together, they navigate abandoned tunnels, an empty hospital and other spooky locales while taking center-frame in gorgeous drone shots of Colorado’s piney expanses.
“I was surprised at the level of chill of everybody in Boulder. Maybe they were all high? But a lot of them weren’t,” Mackie said. “Except for that one old lady in the gym. You know who you are, and you’re mean.”
Mackie likes to do superset workouts, he said, so he would do a heavy press with a medium fly, for example, without taking breaks between machines. Mackie’s elderly nemesis, who stared him down throughout his workouts, copied everything he did.
“So I’m like, ‘Fine, I’m just going to do some rows and pull-ups.’ And she comes around and is like, ‘You can’t even do a pull-up!’ ” he said with a laugh. “And I’d have my headphones in, and she’d be like, ‘Excuse me, no phone in the gym.’ I was about ready to fly my sister in to fight this girl and go Liam Neeson on her.”
He jests, but he took his promo duties for “Elevation” seriously. Mackie and “Elevation” director George Nolfi (“The Adjustment Bureau,” “Spectral”) visited the Denver Film Festival on Nov. 4 to screen and talk about the movie. Mackie even made it up to visit with buddy Deion Sanders in Boulder, hosting a screening for Coach Prime, the University of Colorado Boulder football team, and Super Bowl champ Warren Sapp — as well as a separate Boulder cast-and-crew screening, followed by the Denver Film Fest visit. Phew.
“I did go to a lot of University of Colorado football games while we were shooting,” Mackie said. “But (Sanders) had told me Boulder was like the Atlanta of the West Coast. I must have missed it by two months! When I was in Boulder I was the only Black dude there. Kiss my (butt), Deion Sanders.”
Mackie’s first few weeks of filming in Colorado in late 2022 were challenging in a different way. As a New Orleans resident, he went from sea level to elevations of up to 11,000 feet, he said. He and his stunt man would jog together every day, and go hiking every third day in the Flatirons.
“It was painful coming back from Colorado to New Orleans because the air is so heavy and I was so opened up,” he said. “I felt like I was taking in so much water with my breathing.”
He loved Colorado, but doesn’t miss Boulder much, dubbing it an isolating place that’s “myopic” in its approach to communal dwelling and living in general. The isolation helped with his performance in “Elevation,” he said, since his character Will goes through the same feelings.
“I’ll tell you what I learned in Colorado,” Mackie said. “I thought there would be good fishing, beautiful countryside, all of that. And I was right. The fly fishing was amazing, I got a lot of brookies (trout), but I didn’t go hunting, which I was mad about. Next time I’m coming back hard.”
The ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) has filed a federal civil rights complaint with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging that Jewish Student A was subjected to repeated antisemitic bullying, slurs, and physical assault by multiple fellow students at Southern Hills Middle School (SHMS) throughout 7th and 8th grade.
In one incident, students in Student A’s PE class attempted to play a game called “Jew touch tag” and said Jews were “dirty” and “contaminated.”
In another, in December 2025, a classmate reportedly fashioned a Chromebook charging cord into a lasso, threw it around the student’s neck and dragged him backward from a chair while calling him a “stupid k***.” This was deemed severe enough that the Boulder Police Department was called in to investigate.
Following this particular incident, the Boulder Police Department opened a Juvenile Court Referral for third-degree assault.
ADL says no meaningful action taken by school district over assault
As a result of these incidents, Student A no longer wears a Star of David necklace and does not share his religious identity with anyone.
ADL and the family allege that the school took no meaningful action despite being informed of the situation on multiple occasions. For example, the complaint says the school failed to enforce the no-contact order between Student A and the classmate involved in the Chromebook assault.
The complaint also says that the burden was consistently placed on the victim, such as reassigning his study hall class rather than restricting the aggressor, forcing him to miss a school trip, and asking him to leave class early to avoid crowded hallways.
“The record here is overwhelming: written pleas from the student’s parents, formal school reports, and a police investigation all point to the conclusion that antisemitic harassment at Southern Hills Middle School was pervasive, escalating, and severe,” said James Pasch, ADL Vice President of Litigation.
“Despite the family’s pleas for help to stop the harassment, the school district failed to effectively address it, a clear violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. No family should have to fight this hard to ensure a Jewish child’s safety at school, and certainly no Jewish student should face the threat of assault or harassment because of their Jewish identity.”
Susan Rona, ADL Mountain States Regional Director, noted that 167 antisemitic incidents were recorded in Colorado in 2025, a “stark reminder that antisemitism is not something abstract – it is showing up in our communities, in our neighborhoods and even in our schools.”
ADL is requesting that the US Department of Education require the district to take steps to comply with Title VI and ensure that this student and all Jewish students feel safe and protected.
Boulder Valley School District said that while it does not comment on ongoing legal matters, “we take all allegations of discrimination and harassment seriously.”
“We continue to focus on improvements to our policies, reporting systems, practices, and education efforts – all with the goal of ensuring every BVSD student feels safe, welcomed, and a strong sense of belonging.”
When you walk inside the Conoco station at the corner of University Boulevard and Bonnie Brae Boulevard in Denver, you can’t help but notice the history on the walls.
“Here’s the 40s. The 50s and my dad and uncle in the 70s,” says owner Ken Wilson pointing to the pictures on the wall.
Ken is the third generation of the Wilson family to own the gas station and service center.
“Grandpa Ken started to lease this out in 1942. My dad bought the business from my grandpa and my uncle worked his whole career here for my dad and for me,” Ken recalls.
In all, the Wilson family has owned the Conoco station for more than 80 years.
“I started working here in 1978 when I was 12, just part time in the summers. I worked through high school and through college and then did my own thing, and I’ve been back here about 15 years,” said Ken.
“It means so much to our family. It’s been a great business.”
But Ken is the end of the road for the Wilson family ownership. In February, a for sale sign went up at the Bonnie Brae Conoco.
“We’re just looking now. We’re not in a rush. It’s not like we’re going to sell and be done this year. We’re going to get a price we want to get, and if it takes us years to do that’s okay,” he said.
Wilson has seen a lot of change during his time working at the station and service center.
“There aren’t a lot of garages anymore. They used to be everywhere. There were four of them on this block when I was a kid, he said.
When asked what he’ll miss most, Ken points to his relationship with his customers.
“I’ve had customers now where I actually waited on their grandparents. And then their parents. And now them.”
As for what his grandpa would say if he could see the place now, Ken says, “I think he’d say he was really proud of what we’ve done. Both my father, my uncle and myself. Hopefully he’s still hanging around here once in a while.”
The Colorado Buffaloes are still putting the finishing touches on their 2027 class over the next few months, but their 2028 recruiting plan continues to take shape.
Earlier this week, Deion Sanders’ staff extended an offer to one of the top prospects in the class of 2028, composite five-star wide receiver Jaylen Addai. Addai now holds 43 offers, including one from nearly every blue-blood program in the country.
247Sports’ Composite currently ranks Addai as the No. 12 overall prospect in the 2028 class, the No. 3 overall wide receiver and the top player from the state of Texas.
At 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, the Pearland, Texas native fits the mold of the modern-day receiver. He seems likely to fill into his frame given his youth. Addai is a multiple-sport athlete with elite athleticism on the field, on the basketball court and on the track.
Given how early it is in Addai’s recruitment, several teams are in contention for his commitment, with Notre Dame and Ohio State leading the way early. When the 2028 cycle picks up later this year, who really has a chance should come into focus, especially when visits begin.
Colorado’s 2028 class does not have any commitments yet, but has offers out to 28 different wide receiver prospects.
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