Catholic Memorial Bans Students From Attending The State Semi-Finals After They Chanted "You Killed Jesus" At Newton North

(CBS) — Catholic Memorial School told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 its students will not be allowed to attend Monday night’s MIAA semifinal basketball game against Cambridge Rindge and Latin at TD Garden after they chanted “You killed Jesus” in response to taunts from Newton North fans before a playoff game Friday night. In a statement released Monday morning, the school said members of the student body were told they cannot attend the game, and that, following meetings over the weekend, the school administration has begun to take steps “both immediate and long-term” to better educate students about intolerance. “There are no excuses for the actions of the student-spectators who took part in the chanting, their behavior was appalling; their actions and words do not align with the teachings or the value system of our school or the Catholic Church,” read the school’s statement. The “You killed Jesus” chants followed taunts from Newton North students, who shouted chants of “Where are your girls?” and others that implied things about the male anatomy. Catholic Memorial, located in West Roxbury, is an all-boys Catholic school. Newton North High School has a large Jewish population.

So Portnoy posted this story when it happened over the weekend, and now the punishment has been handed down. The students are banned from tonight’s game and, even worse, will be forced to sit in on lectures about intolerance. Bit of an overreaction here, don’t you think? Tossing away all fan support for a state semi because of a funny/maybe a little mean/but still funny chant? I mean, let’s look at the facts here:

1. Part of going to a Catholic school means you get god, and you get to let everyone know about it. You get to chant about god all you want. “God’s on our side,” “You killed Jesus,” Corinthians 10:13, whatever your heart desires. In the realm of athletics, god is a pretty big deal and he’s our assistant coach. If you didn’t want these kind of chants directed at you then you should’ve chosen a better Sunday story as a child.

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2. The only rules when it comes to sports chants are that they have to be funny and they have to give your team an edge. I know this was both because I laughed when I read about it and CM won.

3. I mean, they’re not wrong? Jews killed Jesus. That’s just a fact. For goodness sake, this is what they teach the children at Catholic Memorial. If they were chanting math problems and Shakespearean sonnets would that get them banned from games? I think not. If you don’t want the kids saying it then don’t teach them it.

4. Is it not spreading the word of the lord? At worst these kids were teaching the good book to a bunch of heathens. That’s extra credit where I come from.

But I guess if you really want to drive the message home that this kind of behavior, the spreading of very real knowledge the kids learned in a CM classroom, is not going to be tolerated then you ban them from TD Garden. Strikes me as an overreaction, however. All’s fair in love, war, and high school athletics is the mantra I lived by when I was growing up. Simpler times, my friends, simpler times.