JCC Basketball Coach Charged With Punching 10-Year-Old

Image by W6/iStock

By Aiden Pink May 21, 2019

A basketball coach at a Jewish community center on Long Island was arrested and charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child after allegedly punching a 10-year-old, News 12 Long Island reported Monday.

The incident allegedly took place at the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center in Greenvale. According to police, the boy said that his coach, Cheikh Khadim Ndiaye, punched him multiple times on both arms after participating in a drill called “knockout,” leaving bruises. After the boy’s father called the coach for an explanation, he allegedly replied, “We were just playing games and I’m sorry.”

JCC executive director David Black said in an email to the community that when they found out about the incident, Ndiaye was immediately suspended and banned from the premises. “The security and well-being of all of our members, especially our youth, is of paramount importance,” Black wrote, according to The Island News. “We will not tolerate any environment that is not safe and healthy for all in our community, including our youngest, every participant and member, and our staff.”

Ndiaye, a former college basketball player, had no prior criminal record and was released on his own recognizance at his arraignment on Monday. The next hearing is scheduled for June 4.

Correction, May 22: A previous version of this story claimed that Ndiaye was fired, citing a report in The Island News. In fact, Ndiaye has been suspended pending an internal investigation.

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter at @aidenpink.

Aiden Pink is the Deputy News Editor for the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO