Yeshiva Basketball Star Leaves Jewish High School

Tamir Goodman, the orthodox high school basketball phenomena whose non-binding basketball scholarship offer from the University of Maryland drew national attention last spring, has transferred to Takoma Academy, a Seventh-Day Adventist private school in Takoma Park, MD for his senior year. The announcement was made by his father, Karl Goodman, on August 13th while Tamir studied in Israel.

Heralded in the news media as "Jewish Jordan," Goodman previously attended Torah Academy of Baltimore. His father proclaimed, "I don't think he can play Division 3 and 4 high school basketball anymore." Taking this quote literally, the national media reported that Tamir was leaving the Torah Academy because he wished to "step up his level of competition." This however, is far from the entire truth.

Sources inform The Commentator that Goodman left Torah Academy because the high school closed their basketball program. Faced with high publicity and exuberant media attention, the Yeshiva confronted a conflict that existed both externally and internally. Problems on how to handle the evolving media circus arose and became too difficult to resolve. Unable to find any other viable solution, the high school disbanded its basketball team, effectively ending what became the Tamir Goodman Saga.

Tamir plans to move to the orthodox community of Silver Spring, MD. Once there, he hopes to establish close relationships with local Rabbonim to maintain a semblance of Torah in his everyday life.