An Amityville High School teacher and coach has been suspended over accusations he referred to a Black student as a "monkey."
Saba Mchunguzi, of the NAACP of Central Long Island, says the teacher should lose his job. The teacher, who is white, was allegedly heard using the word while addressing a student athlete during a live stream of a football game.
In the video obtained by News 12, you can hear someone say the word monkey after referencing Howard Cosell, a sportscaster who was accused of making a similar racist statement decades ago.
During a meeting Wednesday, the school board suspended the teacher with pay pending a hearing on the matter.
Parents lined up at last week's board meeting to voice their concerns.
In response the superintendent sent a message to families writing, "This individual does not represent our school district."
The school board president also condemned the bigotry saying, "The Board of Education expects district administrators, teachers and other staff to act as role models for the students and uphold board policies against racism."
The next step is to notify the teacher that he is facing charges and the two sides have 125 days to submit evidence for the hearing.
An independent arbitrator will ultimately make the final decision.
If the teacher is found guilty of the accusations, the board says it will seek termination.