AEW World Champ MJF — Maxwell Jacob Friedman — inducted into National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
Maxwell Jacob Friedman never forgot the antisemitic taunts he endured from his football teammates and wrestling opponents while growing up in Plainview.
Friedman has previously described a roll of quarters being thrown at his feet by teammates while being subjected to slurs directed at his Jewish faith.
More than a decade later, Friedman is now known to the world as MJF, the reigning world champion of All Elite Wrestling. AEW is an American professional wrestling promotion, similar to the WWE, and airs on TBS and TNT.
Friedman, 27, has built a reputation, not only in the ring, but as one of the most vocal Jewish athletes to speak out against antisemitism. On Monday, he returned home to Long Island — a place he calls the “most magical place in the world” — to accept his induction as the newest, and youngest ever, member of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Commack.
“Everybody in this Hall of Fame ... had to fight discrimination and antisemitism,” Friedman, who now owns a home in Melville, told Newsday. “Because just being an athlete and a Jew is really not supposed to be in the same sentence if you ask the general public. I love Long Island more than anything. I love being Jewish more than anything. And I love being able to be a role model for young Jewish kids, who, let's face it, don't have that much representation.”
The Hall of Fame, located inside the Suffolk Y JCC, includes household names such as Sandy Koufax, Hank Greenberg, Marv Albert, Mark Spitz, Aly Raisman and Howard Cosell.
Others are less familiar. They are champions of judo, track and field, swimming and dressage. And there is just one other professional wrestler: Bill Goldberg.
The hall, founded in 1993, was originally expected to honor Long Island-centric athletes but expanded when plans for a New York, and later, a national museum in Washington, D.C., failed to materialize. The hall is funded exclusively by the JCC.
“We remain dedicated to fostering the Jewish identity and commemorating our sports heroes,” said Rick Lewis, chief executive of the Suffolk Y JCC.
But only a small percentage of hall inductees are from Long Island and even fewer have made their Jewish faith as much a part of their identity as Friedman — a role that only enhanced in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel that left 1,200 dead. During the ensuing war in Gaza, nearly 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
An estimated 138 hostages are still being held by Hamas, including Omer Neutra, a Plainview native who joined the Israeli army after graduating from Schechter School of Long Island.
“The insane rise of antisemitism … is hard to even absorb,” said Nina Friedman, Max's mother. “So the fact that Max is using this platform to speak out means everything to us.”
MJF, who began working with Patriots owner Robert Kraft's "Stand Up To Jewish Hate" initiative, said Jews should not hide in the shadows or retreat from their faith.
“We can't run. We can't be scared,” Friedman said. “It's more important than ever, because we need to stand our ground and we need to say that a Jew can be anything.”
On Monday, nearly 100 professional wrestling fans packed the hall to hear from Friedman, who was sporting his signature Burberry scarf, and to secure an elusive autograph and selfie. Once one of wrestling's signature heels [bad guys], Friedman is now AEW's top babyface, or good guy.
Rachel Wiesenberg, associate rabbi at Temple Beth Torah in Melville, took her two sons, 9-year-old Hunter and 7-year-old Reed, out of school Monday for an opportunity to meet Friedman.
“We really loved that it was specifically related to him being so strongly outspoken about his Jewish identity,” said Wiesenberg, of Merrick. “We wouldn't have taken them out of school for just any signing, but this was important.”
With his growing fame — Friedman has a role in "The Iron Claw," a film starring Zac Efron being released this week — MJF has embraced the opportunity to be a voice for Jews, particularly on Long Island, who may feel marginalized in a post-Oct. 7 world.
“I have a tattoo of a Star of David on my arm and it's never going away,” he said. “And the reason I got that done at the tender age of 18 is because I want an antisemite to know that I'm Jewish. I'm happy that I'm making them uncomfortable. And I'm going to continue to make you uncomfortable because I'm going to continue to be proud of who I am.”
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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