Louisiana college president rejects claims he is anti-Semitic after refusing to hire highly-recommended coach because of his 'Jewish blood'

  • Louisiana College president Rick Brewer said he had been 'vilified and determined guilty by certain persons from across the nation'
  • Football coach Joshua Bonadona is suing the college and Brewer, accusing them of violating his civil rights
  • Bonadona's lawsuit says he applied for a job as defensive backs coach and was interviewed last May by Brewer and head football coach Justin Charles
  • Charles had highly recommended the coach and he was the only candidate that the coach nominated
  • Charles later told Bonadona that Brewer refused to approve his hiring because of what Brewer called his 'Jewish blood' 

By Associated Press and Matthew Wright For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

A major college and its president have rejected allegations they discriminated against a Jewish man who applied for an assistant football coaching job.

Louisiana College president Rick Brewer said in a statement Friday that he had been unfairly 'vilified and determined guilty by certain persons from across the nation.'

Joshua Bonadona sued the college and Brewer on Wednesday, accusing them of violating his civil rights. 

An attorney for Brewer and the Pineville school said they 'wholeheartedly' denied the lawsuit's allegations and 'look forward to their day in court and the dismissal of the lawsuit.'

Joshua Bonadona sued Louisiana College and president Rick Brewer on Wednesday, accusing them of violating his civil rights and claiming anti-Semitism prevented him from being hired
Joshua Bonadona sued Louisiana College and president Rick Brewer on Wednesday, accusing them of violating his civil rights and claiming anti-Semitism prevented him from being hired

Joshua Bonadona sued Louisiana College and president Rick Brewer (right) on Wednesday, accusing them of violating his civil rights and claiming anti-Semitism prevented him from being hired

Brewer said in a statement Friday that he's been 'vilified and determined guilty by certain persons from across the nation'

Brewer said in a statement Friday that he's been 'vilified and determined guilty by certain persons from across the nation'

Bonadona's lawsuit says he applied for a job as defensive backs coach and was interviewed last May by Brewer and head football coach Justin Charles. 

Charles had highly recommended the coach and he was the only candidate that the coach nominated.

The suit claims Charles later told Bonadona that Brewer refused to approve his hiring because of what Brewer called his 'Jewish blood.'

Bonadona's lawyer, James Bullman, filed a complaint with the EEOC about his allegations, reports The Bayou Brief.

Bonadona's lawsuit says he applied for a job as defensive backs coach and was interviewed last May by Brewer and head football coach Justin Charles

Bonadona's lawsuit says he applied for a job as defensive backs coach and was interviewed last May by Brewer and head football coach Justin Charles

Charles (pictured) had highly recommended the coach and he was the only candidate that the coach nominated

Charles (pictured) had highly recommended the coach and he was the only candidate that the coach nominated

Lawyers of the school argued that because the coach had converted to Christianity and claimed to be a Baptist, religious based discrimination could not have been possible. 

But Bullman asserts that's not the case of the lawsuit. 

Coach Bonadona hopes to recover 'backpay, lost employment benefits, costs associated with obtaining a new job, mental and emotional anguish, punitive damages, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs'

Coach Bonadona hopes to recover 'backpay, lost employment benefits, costs associated with obtaining a new job, mental and emotional anguish, punitive damages, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs'

Schools like Louisiana College can be discriminatory in practice because they are religious institutions but they can't discriminate against members of a protected federal class on race or ethnicity. 

'People of Jewish heritage are protected as a distinct race under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Sharre Tefila Congregation v. Cobb, 481 U.S. 615 (1987),' the complaint states. 

'As such, employment discrimination against an individual based upon his Jewish ethnic heritage is prohibited under 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2.' 

Bonadona claims that his mother's Jewish background and father's now practiced Catholicism were often subjects of his interview with Brewer. 

He was so assured of the position that he resigned from his job at Southeastern Missouri State University. 

He is currently working at Hendrix College in Arkansas.

The coach hopes to recover 'backpay, lost employment benefits, costs associated with obtaining a new job, mental and emotional anguish, punitive damages, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs.'

Lawyers of the school argued that because the coach had converted to Christianity and claimed to be a Baptist, religious based discrimination could not have been possible

Lawyers of the school argued that because the coach had converted to Christianity and claimed to be a Baptist, religious based discrimination could not have been possible

Schools like Louisiana College can be discriminatory in practice because they are religious institutions but they can't discriminate against members of a protected federal class

Schools like Louisiana College can be discriminatory in practice because they are religious institutions but they can't discriminate against members of a protected federal class

 

 

 

Most watched News videos