Players from high-powered HS football team reportedly utter 'Auschwitz,' 'dreidel,' 'rabbi' for on-field play calling — now head coach is fired

Following reports that his players used words like "Auschwitz," "dreidel," and "rabbi" for on-field play calling during a game earlier this month, the coach of high-powered Duxbury High School in Massachusetts is out of a job, the Associated Press reported.

What are the details?

Dave Maimaron — who has led the the team to five state football titles since taking over the program in 2005 — issued an apology.

"On behalf of the staff and players of the Duxbury High School football team, I want to extend my apology for the insensitive, crass and inappropriate language used in the game on March 12th," Maimaron wrote, according the AP, which added that he called the language "careless, unnecessary and most importantly hurtful on its face -- inexcusable."

He also has been placed on administrative leave from his position as a special education teacher, WBZ-TV reported.

Massachusetts high school football is being played in the spring this year after the season last fall was moved over the coronavirus, the AP said.

Robert Trestan, president of the New England Anti-Defamation League, said Duxbury Public Schools Superintendent John Antonucci told him that words like "Auschwitz," "dreidel," and "rabbi" were used in Duxbury's game against Plymouth North, the AP said. Plymouth school officials alerted Duxbury about the matter, the outlet added.

The words were not directed at the opposing team or at a particular player, Antonucci said, according to the AP.

"It's deeply hurtful to the Jewish community to learn that the plays somehow connect to the Holocaust and Judaism," Trestan said, according to the outlet. "This is a really serious situation. There are indications of a systemic failure both on and off the field."

The district hired Edward Mitnick of Just Training Solutions LLC to assist in its investigation, the AP said, adding that Mitnick is an attorney and investigator with 30 years' experience in such matters.

Duxbury High School's administration said in an emailed statement that "the outrage is real, warranted, and we hear it. The fact that members of our school community used such offensive language, including anti-Semitic language, is horrifying and disappointing," the AP said, adding that Duxbury canceled this Friday's game against Hingham.

"It is important to note that while the players clearly demonstrated poor judgment, the responsibility for this incident also lies with the adults overseeing the program," Antonucci also noted, according to the Patriot Ledger. "In short, this was a systemic failure."

The paper added that Duxbury won the Division 2 state championship in 2016 and lost last season's state final at Gillette Stadium.