St. John's fires fencing coach after a racist video surfaces of him saying the 'majority' of black people kill, steal or do drugs and Abraham Lincoln 'made a mistake' by abolishing slavery
Boris Vaksman was fired by the Queens, New York college after years after video emerged of his racist tirade on social media
St. John's University has fired an assistant fencing coach after video emerged of him saying the 'majority' of black people kill, steal, or do drugs and President Abraham Lincoln 'made a mistake' by abolishing slavery.
Boris Vaksman was fired by the Queens, New York college on Wednesday after video of his racist tirade surfaced on social media. It was first posted anonymously, and then later reposted by Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad.
The footage came from a video conference call on June 3 in which Vaksman was supposed to be conducting a youth coaching session, according to the New York Daily News.
'Because the most trouble [is] coming from where?' Vaksman asked in the video. 'From black people… because they don't want to work, they steal, they kill, they [do] drugs, everything comes from [black people] — the majority.'
The grinning Vaksman continued, adding that 'Lincoln made a mistake' by abolishing slavery.
The footage came from a video conference call on June 3 in which Vaksman was supposed to be conducting a youth coaching session, according to the New York Daily News
A native of Odessa, Ukraine, Vaksman has been an assistant at the school under coach Yury Gelman since 2006, and previously served as the United States Fencing Association's junior national team coach. He is also a fencing referee and a coach at the Fencer's Club in Manhattan.
Gelman, a five-time Olympic fencing coach, has not commented publicly on the matter, but the Daily News reported that he has addressed it with the team.
Vaksman did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.
'As soon as the recording was brought to our attention the matter was immediately investigated and the individual no longer works at the University,' wrote St. John's Athletic Director Michael Cragg in a statement. 'The racist comments expressed are completely unacceptable and a rejection of everything for which the University stands.'
Vaksman has reportedly been suspended by the Fencer's Club as well. A club spokesperson did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for confirmation.
The video was first posted anonymously, and then reposted by Ibtihaj Muhammad (pictured)
Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad reacted to the Vaksman video on Instagram after reposting it
USA Fencing responded to the video's release on Instagram:
'Today, USA Fencing became aware of an audio recording of a fencing coach that included virulently racist comments targeting the Black community. We are disgusted by these statements, which are racist, offensive and have no place in the USA Fencing community or in society as a whole.
'USA Fencing stands with our black athletes and all underrepresented minorities within the fencing family and will conduct an immediate investigation. We will be implementing steps to protect our athletes and all members who may be victimized, marginalized or otherwise injured by such conduct.'
Muhammad included her own response when she reposted the video on Instagram: 'This video is a reminder that coaches and teachers, those people entrusted with building us, educating us, and protecting us, too often perpetuate the discriminatory treatment and behaviors that normalize racism.'
Vaksman was a four-time Soviet Union champion in his younger days and has coached several NCAA National Champions at St. John's, including Cooper Schumacher, Isis Washington, Natalie Vie, and Yevgeniy Karyuchenko.
St. John's University coach Boris Vaksman talks with Sean White during the finals in the epee competition during the Division I Men's Fencing Championship held at the Multi-Sport Facility on the Penn State University campus on March 25, 2018 in University Park, Pennsylvania
