Jessie Rudin, a volunteer hockey coach for Drake University and a former Bulldogs player, has been dismissed after she was photographed with a man dressed in an Adolf Hitler costume for Halloween, according to KCCI-TV.
Rudin reportedly attended a Halloween party Friday at Miss Kitty’s Country Bar and Nightclub in Clive, Iowa, where she was photographed with local Iowa business owner Donnie Gardner, who was dressed in costume as the Nazi dictator.
KCCI confirmed Rudin’s dismissal by Drake on Saturday.
Gardner, who was photographed wearing a swastika armband, a iron cross medallion and a cropped mustache, confirmed he wore the costume to KCCI on Monday.
Drake called Rudin’s behavior “completely inconsistent” with the university’s values.
“Drake University unequivocally condemns all forms of hate speech and discriminatory symbolism,” said Vice President and Dean of Students Jerry Parker, Ph.D. “Such behavior stands in direct opposition to our values of respect, inclusion, and integrity.”
Kennedy Power, who was a patron at the bar that night, provided the photo to KCCI and said she was in “utter disbelief” after seeing it.
In another video taken by Power, she can be heard alerting an employee about the man.
“It’s a costume,” the employee could be heard saying.
Power also said the owner of Miss Kitty’s, E.J. (he didn’t want his last name released due to death threats over the matter) was dismissive about her concerns.
In an interview with ABC affiliate WOI-DT, E.J. said he regrets not acting sooner, but insists Gardner was asked to leave.
“I would like to apologize to anybody who it offended. We should have done a better job,” E.J. said.
“She said, ‘You’ve got a Nazi in your bar. What are you going to do about it?’ And I said, I just quickly said, ‘Nothing.’ She goes, ‘So you support nazis?’ And I said, ‘No,’” E.J. said of his encounter with Power.
In a text sent to WOI-DT, Gardner called his costume “very controversial,” and said he does not “idolize or worship the man or anything he did. I simply wore it as a costume for shock value.”
Gardner took “full responsibility” for the costume in a second statement.
“I am dreadfully sorry to anyone caught in the crosshairs and suffering from photos or interactions with me Friday night as any and all hatred should be pointed at myself and myself only,” Gardner told to WOI-DT. “I take full responsibility for the repercussions and will continue to face them head on.”
The Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines also released its own statement regarding this incident.
“Deeply disturbed that a bar patron in our community wore a Hitler costume on Halloween. Hitler is not a costume. This is not satire, it is antisemitism. Free speech is not a shield for minimizing hate. We expect our community’s businesses and institutions to reject antisemitism clearly and immediately.”
