By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-14 00:50:23 | Updated at 2024-11-22 15:02:52
1 week ago
A man filmed delivering a unhinged racist rant during a road rage incident has been identified as a local restaurant owner and university advisory board member.
Jonathan Spanos, 54, was recorded hurling racial slurs towards another driver in York, Pennsylvania, and at one point proclaimed 'I am a racist,' in a video posted to X on Sunday.
The clip shows Spanos in a confrontation on a residential road where he repeatedly called another man's brother a 'half n****r.'
'I don't have a half n*****r brother, but you do,' he said. 'You popped me the finger, you're wrong.
'That's right, I did, I said he has a half n****r brother... I am, I am a racist.'
Jonathan Spanos, 54, was recorded spewing racial slurs and at one point saying 'I am a racist,' during a road rage incident
The confrontation was on a residential road where Spanos repeatedly called another man's brother a 'half n****r'
Spanos was on the Penn State York Advisory Board and owns a seafood restaurant with his wife called The Paddock on Market.
He resigned from the board on Monday, one day after the video was posted on X, Penn State director of university public relations Wyatt DuBois told DailyMail.com.
'This hateful language has no place in our community and is not reflective of the University's values or our desire to foster an inclusive environment,' DuBois said.
Spanos endowed the J. Spanos Family Trustee Scholarship in honor of his parents and sisters who attended the school. He was listed as a 2014 commencement speaker at the college, according to Centre Daily Times.
Spanos and his wife Sally are third generation proprietors of their family restaurant, according to The Paddock on Market website.
Spanos and his wife Sally (pictured) are third generation proprietors of their family restaurant
The website states they are known for their 'award winning' Chesapeake jumbo lump crab cakes, fresh cut angus stakes, made to order pasta sautés and salads, as well as their 'house-made' onion rings.
Spanos issued a public apology on Wednesday alongside a small group of local leaders - including the Black Ministers' Association, the NAACP and Confronting Racism Coalition of York - reported WHP.
'The video captured a heated family confrontation in which I intentionally used the most ugly language,' he said.
'I was wrong for not walking away from that volatile situation. I was wrong for responding in anger with hateful language.
'I was wrong for using a racist term that has caused great trauma in our country, our community and to our neighbors. I was also wrong to state sarcastically in the video that I am a racist.
Spanos was on the Penn State York Advisory Board but resigned on Monday, one day after the video was posted on X
He owns The Paddock on Market, a seafood restaurant known for their 'award winning' crab cakes
'It saddens me that my own foolish words have understandably caused others to question if I am a racist. While I have never believed myself to be a racist, I was reminded by the pastors that the mouth speaks what flows from the heart.'
The York branch of the NAACP called for Spanos immediate resignation from the advisory board and said they were 'deeply troubled' by the incident.
'The emotional trauma that this video ignites for African Americans is deplorable. The use of this demeaning term is not only offensive but also perpetuates the systemic racism that the NAACP has fought against for over a century,' NAACP York Branch President Jamiel Alexander said.
'Penn State York should conduct a thorough review of its advisory council members to ensure they embody the university's commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.'
DailyMail.com has approached Spanos for further comment.
