Rhode Island Catholic school principal resigns over video showing him disaraging Jews and blacks
Published January 25, 2018
(JTA) — The principal of a Catholic high school in Rhode Island resigned after a short video surfaced showing him slurring black and Jewish people.
Jay Brennan, the longtime principal of Bishop Hendricken High School, resigned Friday over the video.
The all-boys school is 13 percent minority, WPRI TV reported, citing statistics released by a board member.
The six-second video that was secretly recorded in the principal’s office comprises one sentence that is disparaging of both blacks and Jews, according to the report.
Brennan said in an apology released on Friday: “I first apologize to our Hendricken families and in particular our young men who I have hurt. I love all the Hendricken students and tried to show that every day when I entered the school. I would never intend to hurt any of our young men, of any race, color or creed. I am so sorry for the hurt for which I am responsible. I wish there was a way that you could know that in my heart, I am not a racist, I am not an anti-Semite and that I truly care for each member of the Hendricken community.”
Brennan has worked at the school for 40 years.
