(Photo: Reuters/Ray Stubblebine)An NBA basketball game at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York in this 2012 file photo.A so-called "Nazi salute photo" of a group of high school girls in Maine, has sparked massive backlash and gotten the students in serious trouble.
The incident took place at Greely High School, and surrounded some of the school's basketball players.
The girls allegedly got together to make a Nazi-style salute together in an apparent joke. However, others failed to see the funny side of their actions, and the girls have since gotten in hot water with the school's administrators.
In the immediate aftermath of the controversy, the nature of the punishment handed out to the group of girls has not been disclosed, and no announcement has been made by the teenagers as to why they decided to pose together in that way.
However, according to NESN a letter was sent home to parents by the school's principal and athletic director, Dan McKeone. The letter highlights that some of the school's basketball players were photographed posing in Adolf Hitler-style salutes as others posed giving a "V" peace sign.
It has also been reported that for one reason or another, one of the players in the team has been nicknamed "Hitler," and that has also not gone down well with the school's administrators.
The girls involved in the incident have not been named in reports as they are still considered minors. The photo, however, has been published by the WLBZ website, although the faces of the girls have been blurred out to protect their identity.
Upon further investigation into the girls' conduct, it was also revealed that some of the basketball players had posted tweets on social networking site, Twitter, that have been described as "offensive" and "anti-Semitic" in language.
Emily Chaleff, the executive director of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, has said, "When situations like this come up when students are using prejudiced and intolerant speech and actions, it shows that the school really needs to seriously institute anti-bias, anti-bullying education and curriculum," according to The Examiner.
907
