A man caught on camera hurling a homophobic slur is facing some consequences. News 4’s Checkey Beckford reports.
A high school educator and coach of a baseball team has been pulled from his duties after officials reviewed a video where the man was seemingly shouting homophobic slurs.
"He said, 'I’m gonna r-word you, you f---ing,' then another f-word that’s very bad. Let's just say homophobic slurs were shouted," said Matthew Kevelson, who recorded the video and was on the receiving end of the man's tirade.
The threat of sexual assault and homophobic slurs were coming from youth baseball coach and New York City teacher Juan Ynoa. In fact, the name of his team can clearly be seen on his shirt as he gets out of his car, according to the video.
"After he got out of the car, I noticed he was going toward the back of the car," Kevelson said. That's when he drove off, afraid of what would come next.
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"This guy had filmed my license plate, my car, who knows if this person would retaliate against me. So posting it was almost a form of protection in case anything happened," he added.
Kevelson, a musician who goes by Mattykevs, said the Sept. 5 incident started after Ynoa cut across three lanes of traffic.
"So I honked on my horn for all of 2 Mississippi," he said.
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Ynoa, a teacher at Flushing High School, told News 4 over email, "Now is not a good time." He wrote that he could give his side of the story the following day, but did not provide further details.
The Department of Education said Ynoa was reassigned "away from students" after learning of the video, and the New York Longhorns team posted a statement to its social media account three days ago.
"Upon learning of this incident the staff member was relieved of his duties with our organization. The actions, words and sentiments expressed by the former member do not align in any way with the Longhorns core values and mission to provide a positive and supportive place for baseball players to develop into young adults both on and off the field," the post read, in part.
Kevelson shared screenshots of Ynoa's tirade that he sent to team management on Sept. 10, but says they went unanswered until three days ago.
"This guy is around children. If he's a coach, if he's a teacher in the community, a leader of the community, he can't be acting like that in public," he said.
