VIDEO: St. John's Fencing Coach Fired for Insane Racist Comments About Slavery
By Michael Luciano
St. John's now has an opening in their fencing program, as head coach Boris Vaksman was cut loose following some almost unbelievably racist comments made on Instagram. Vaksman was relieved of his duties as Red Storm head coach after he claimed that Abraham Lincoln "made a mistake" when he emancipated enslaved black people, claiming they "steal, kill, and do drugs."
NEW: @StJohnsU D1 fencing coach Boris Vaskman was fired for saying Abe "Lincoln made a mistake" when he helped free all those enslaved Black people.
— Bradford William Davis (@_beewilly) June 11, 2020
This video was provided to me and is circulating the fencing community on Instagram. Story here: https://t.co/6fvLdSrgAl pic.twitter.com/eVu43m08DL
I don't even know where to begin with this. Vaksman's comments are so racist, offensive, and shameful that they don't even dignify a response or analysis.
Vaksman, who originally hails from Ukraine, is a fencing legend, as he has four national championships, four Soviet Union championships, and 56 total medals in fencing to his name. He has been with St. John's since 2006, and has previously coached the US national junior fencing team.
The university did not wait long to kick Vaksman out, as he was fired as soon as the university caught wind of his disgusting comments.
JUST IN: St. John’s fires fencing coach Boris Vaksman after his racist comments were leaked on Instagram, per @NYPost_Brazille
— Barstool St. John’s (@SJUBarstool) June 11, 2020
The university has made the right move by terminating him immediately.
Warning: Video is very disturbing and discretion is advised. pic.twitter.com/qqBwHUYZJj
Whatever Vaksman's skills as a fencer or as a coach, they have been irreparably ruined now that his blatant racism has been made public knowledge. It's safe to say no one around the program was sad to see him go.