MovieChat Forums > School Ties (1992) Discussion > Did the football coach know that David w...

Did the football coach know that David was Jewish?

posted 3 years ago by JackalopeCash57 (92)
4 replies | jump to latest

Hi all, so I re-watched this lastnight for the first time since high school. I gotta say, it has aged like fine wine, hell of a film. Something that caught my attention/stood out to me was the part at the beginning where the Coach gives David a ride to the campus and asks him if he as any diet restrictions and then he tells him to keep his cards close to his vest regarding his background. Now, the Coach seems to be one of the few upright characters throughout the film: was he asking about David's dietary habits because he knew he was Jewish and wanted to make sure he honored that by seeing to it that he was providing only kosher foods to him? I get the vibe that he genuinely liked David wanted to support the guy regardless of all other details - yet the characters associated with the school were all highly two faced, was the Coach this way also?

[–] kiwiboris (4) 3 years ago

The coach most definitely knew about David being Jewish -- otherwise there wouldn't be the semi-awkward question on "do you have any... um, dietary problems?" in regards to David possibly keeping kosher. I agree that the coach genuinely liked David and was supportive of him. And, most likely, it was the coach who discovered David and convinced the alumni and the headmaster to admit David even though no Jews had been admitted in the school before.

Furthermore, I don't think the coach was two-faced. He needed the best quarterback to win the season, and he found that quarterback in David.

The coach and the chaplain are the only likeable adult characters in the school. Well, possibly Gierasch as well (he is tough and abhorring cheating but he treats all students equally.)

[–] RonC (21) 3 years ago

Yeah, Gierasch never gave off an anti-Semitic vibe. I think all the adult characters you mentioned were sympathetic and some of the boys were too. David would have been OK.

[–] Thegameoflife (6) 5 months ago

Yes, I think the coach knows that David is Jewish and has no problem with that, unlike many of David's classmates. Coach advises him not to tell people anymore than they need to know.

[–] seanwhelan2310 (563) 2 months ago

He may have known, but to him, that didn't even matter, all he wanted was the best quarterback for the team. Not much is known about him, but he could have been a friend of David's dad, you hear him say to David, "How's your dad"