Letter to the Rockville Centre Editor (Sept. 23-29)

Posted

RVC is no place for hate

To the Editor:

It was with great dismay that we read the article “New Rockville Centre coach resigns” (Sept. 9-15), regarding the regrettable resignation of Jude Massillon after only one week as the girls’ varsity soccer coach.

The article stated that Massillon, who is Black, resigned after reporting that he received “numerous anonymous phone calls, many of which were ‘racially derogatory.’” This sad and sobering situation should cause all residents to question the message communicated to our children about the kind of village we all aspire to live in.

The Board of Education’s statement encouraging and supporting Massillon’s right to a formal investigation was welcome, and hopefully says more about who we are as a caring community than the hate directed at the coach. We also hope that this unfortunate incident leads to serious consideration of how each of us can work to ensure that all people are welcome in Rockville Centre. Hate should have no home here.

The Rockville Centre Democratic Club