Rhode Island

Rhode Island High School Principal Retires Over Racist Slurs

The longtime principal of a Roman Catholic high school in Rhode Island has retired after a short video of him using racial slurs surfaced.

The president of Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick announced the retirement of Principal Joseph Brennan Jr. in an email to parents obtained by media outlets.

The short video shows Brennan using slurs to describe blacks and Jews.

The email from the school's president says "we will not tolerate inflammatory language in any context."

The language also drew condemnation from the leader of the state's Catholic community, Diocese of Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin.

Tobin says Brennan's comments "seem out of character" but "expressions of racism will simply not be tolerated" by diocese employees.

Brennan, a 40-year employee of the school, could not be reached for comment.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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