Louisiana College Allegedly Refused Hiring Coach Over 'Jewish Blood'

A Southern Baptist college in Pineville, Louisiana, has been sued for allegedly refusing to hire personnel based on religious heritage, according to a federal complaint.

Louisiana College president Rick Brewer was accused of discrimination for not hiring a Christian assistant football coach with a Jewish background, according to a federal complaint filed Wednesday and obtained by the Bayou Brief.

According to the complaint, Brewer opted not to consider top candidate Joshua Bonadano for an assistant coaching job because of his "Jewish blood."

The complaint stated that Bonadano adopted his Christian faith while he studied at Louisiana College after his family raised him to practice Judaism and that he did not receive the position based on Brewer’s alleged Anti-Semitic stance.

Bonadano’s complaint said that he was seeking "backpay, lost employment benefits, costs associated with obtaining a new job, mental and emotional anguish, punitive damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, and costs."

A week after Bonadano’s interview, Justin Charles, the school's head football coach who referred Bonadano to Brewer for the job, called Bonadano and informed him that he had been looked over because of his "Jewish linage," according to the complaint.

When Bonadano asked him to elaborate, Charles said that it was because of what Brewer called "Jewish blood."

According to the Bayou Brief, Bonadano’s mother is Jewish and his father is Catholic, which Brewer allegedly condemned during the interview. Bonadano attended Lousiana College from 2009-2013. He resigned from his job at Southeastern Missouri State University.

Louisiana College is a private college founded in 1906 "offering students an educational program informed by the Christian faith," according to its website. It is the only Baptist four-year institution in the state of Louisiana.