MONTREAL — Montreal Alouettes player Khalif Mitchell has been fined by both the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the team for posting material that denies the Holocaust, as well as other offensive content, on his Twitter account.
The team also issued an apology.
In response to a complaint from B’nai Brith Canada, the Alouettes announced on May 14 that the club has fined Mitchell the maximum amount allowable under CFL rules for violating the team’s social media policy. The amount of either fine was not disclosed.
The club “unequivocally denounce[d] the regrettable” postings made by Mitchell, which included a retweet on May 6 of a YouTube video, a “documentary” called The Greatest Lie Ever Told—The Holocaust.
The retweet was still visible on his feed on May 14, but appeared to have been removed by May 15.
Also among Mitchell’s recent entries were a cartoon drawing an equivalency between ISIS and Mossad and another graphic indicating ISIS stands for “Israel’s Secret Intelligence Service.”
“His postings are disappointing and in no way reflect the opinions and values of the Montreal Alouettes football club,” stated president and chief executive officer Mark Weightman. “His postings were completely unacceptable and the Alouettes apologize to anyone who was offended by them.”
The team said it would make no further comment on the matter.
New CFL Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge also condemned the postings.
“There is absolutely no place in our league for commentary used to divide or disparage others along the lines of sex, race, religion or sexual orientation,” Orridge said. “While we acknowledge that players have a right to hold and express their own opinions, in no circumstance do we condone activity or comments that are derogatory or inappropriate, putting the league’s reputation in question, and we feel Mr. Mitchell’s recent behaviour on social media has violated these principles.”
Khalif Mitchell
Mitchell, a defensive tackle who signed a three-year contract with the club in February, posts as @TruthWillFree96. He has more than 2,000 followers.
In comments to the National Post, Mitchell said, "I believe the Holocaust happened. I believe that people died in the Holocaust. I believe that the Holocaust is an example of pure hatred, in its purest sense, on this earth that we even know of, and that we should look into it and examine it for its authenticity, to understand how much hate could have been amassed on one people."
He indicated that curiosity had led him to the 77-minute online video, which claims the number of Jews murdered in the camps is too high to be credible, among other doubts about the magnitude of the Holocaust.
On May 14, B’nai Brith Canada issued a press release denouncing Mitchell’s postings under the heading “Football All-Star Promotes Holocaust Denial.” That was after it had not received any response to its letters a few days earlier to Alouettes general manager Jim Popp or CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge.
B’nai Brith spokesperson Sam Eskenasi said Mitchell’s Twitter feed has been replete with “bizarre and weird” postings. There have also been “outlandish conspiracy theories [and] comparisons of police officers to the Ku Klux Klan,” he said.
“As an all-star and role model for Canadian youth, Mr. Mitchell should not be sending out divisive and hateful tweets under the banner of the Montreal Alouettes organization,” said B’nai Brith chief executive officer Michael Mostyn. “Mr. Mitchell has a history of posting wacky and offensive tweets.”
In 2012, when Mitchell was playing for the B.C. Lions, the CFL fined Mitchell an undisclosed amount for using a derogatory term for Chinese people in a tweet.
The 30-year-old Virginia Beach, Va., native has also played for the Toronto Argonauts.
Mitchell told the Montreal Gazette in February when he signed with the Alouettes, in reference to the 2012 tweet and other misbehaviour: “I’m not who I was, I’m who I am. I’m a man now. When I was done doing those things [I was] a child. I was coming up at 23, 24, 25, having no male influence. Growing up, living life and being raised around women… making a couple of mistakes based on my illegitimate knowledge of how society claims political correctness. Based on where I’m from. I think I’ve done pretty well.”
B’nai Brith faults the Alouettes for not being more vigilant about Mitchell’s social media activity, given his past.
“While understanding that we cannot judge the stream of consciousness of individuals who share offbeat Internet postings,” Mostyn said, “these repugnant tweets are shameful not just to Mr. Mitchell, but the entire Alouettes organization which he represents by displaying its logo and proudly donning its jersey on his Twitter account.”
