The principal of a Catholic high school in Rhode Island was forced into early retirement after a video surfaced of him using racially offensive language against Blacks and Jewish people. Jay Brennan, a 40-year employee of Bishop Hendricken High School was secretly recorded in a seemingly casual conversation. The principal says, “That way, I could take care of the [slur for African-Americans] and the [slur for Jewish people].” The context of his statement was edited out of the video.
It is unclear when the video was recorded but a copy was sent to a local news station who then forwarded it to Bishop Hendricken’s President John Jackson. Jackson responded to the video in a statement, “We recently were made aware of a six-second video-clip from the past with a statement made by Mr. Jay Brennan which includes inflammatory language. The video clip, which is under review, has no context and Mr. Brennan was being secretly recorded, but clearly the language is inappropriate. We will not tolerate inflammatory language in any context.”
The news station then reached out to Jim Vincent, president of the Providence branch of the NAACP, for comments on the clip. Vincent said “I just don’t think a person of that authority should be talking like that. No matter where. No matter when” Vincent said. “It hurts. It’s painful. It conjures up a past that was horrific for people both in the black and the Jewish community.”
