BATON ROUGE, La. – The president of a private Baptist college in Louisiana refused to approve a football coach’s hiring because of what he called the applicant’s “Jewish blood,” a federal lawsuit claims.
Joshua Bonadona sued Louisiana College and its president, Rick Brewer, on Wednesday, accusing them of violating his civil rights.
Bonadona, a 28-year-old graduate of Louisiana College, says he applied for a job as defensive backs coach at his alma mater and was interviewed last May by Brewer and the Pineville school’s head football coach, Justin Charles. The head coach later told Bonadona that he had recommended him for the job, but the college didn’t approve his hiring because of his “Jewish descent,” the suit alleges.
“Mr. Bonadona asked Justin Charles what that meant, and Justin Charles stated that Dr. Brewer refused to approve Mr. Bonadona’s hiring because of what Dr. Brewer called Mr. Bonadona’s ‘Jewish blood,'” the suit says.
Brewer didn’t immediately respond to a phone call and email seeking comment.
Charles, who is not named as a defendant or accused of any wrongdoing in the lawsuit, said in an email Thursday that he is “not at liberty to comment on this matter.”
Bonadona subsequently took a coaching job at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., for less money than Louisiana College would have paid him, the suit says.
