"No place for hate": Newton South wrestlers send message after finding antisemitic vandalism
By Mike Sullivan, WBZ-TV
NEWTON - The wrestlers at Newton South High School have a new mat and a new motto. The push comes after their old mat was vandalized with antisemitic hate.
"When it was found it was the day after the Holocaust Remembrance Day," said Newton South Head Coach Alan Rotatori. "That mat hadn't been used for almost two years because of the pandemic, so we couldn't pinpoint when that happened."
When the team rolled out their mat, they found swastikas carved into it. Captain Tyler Kadish was the first one to find it. He and his brother are Jewish wrestlers on the team.
"Why would someone want to do this to our team?" questioned Kadish. "Instead of getting down, we decided to be better, to be better people."
When the city bought the team a new mat, they chose to dedicate the mat to peace. It has, "No place for hate," written on the side.
"The city wanted to support us by getting us a new mat, but also sending a message," added Rotatori.
The team is not only wrestling on the motto, but they are living it. The wrestlers are choosing to combat hate with love. They have been taking part in community service ventures like working at a food pantry or hosting fundraisers.
"Tyler has been the spearhead for this whole thing," said Rotatori. "He wants this program to be recognized not just for quality wrestlers, but quality people."
"[The food pantry] I thought that was a perfect opportunity to give our wrestlers the chance to give back," said Kadish. "It's easy to do things that are easy, and hard to do things that are hard. It's what makes you a better person."