It doesnt make any sense.. He was asked to accept this form of a lesson. Seven high school football coaches in Canton, Ohio, have been let go after they allegedly forced a 17-year-old player, who is a Hebrew Israelite and cannot consume pork, to eat a pepperoni pizza . An investigation found the seven staff members made a player eat pork in violation of his religious beliefs. Attorney Edward Gilbert, who is representing the 17-year-old player at the center of the controversyand his family, on June 14 released the surveillance video that was taken on May 24 when the family says Wattley and his staff forced the player to eat an entire pepperoni pizza against his Hebrew Israelite religious beliefs as punishment for missing a voluntary workout. The others mentioned above stayed in football. 2023 www.cantonrep.com. "What is on that video shows that what happened on May 24 is an ill-mannered attempt to instill accountability and discipline in our students," he said when firing the coaches. Traffic alert: Crash closes 224 West at Kenmore Leg in Summit County, Fan Expo Cleveland to feature 'The Office' cast, Christina Ricci and more as celebrity guests this March, FORECAST | Another surge in temps with highs topping 60 degrees, 3 skyscraper-sized asteroids making approach to Earth this week, an investigation into misconduct against a player, Bigger than basketball: How a small team, facing huge odds, became champions, Keith Wakefield retires after 30 seasons as Perry Panthers football coach, OHSAA to expand football playoffs to 16 teams, Romero Harris - Weight room coach and baseball assistant. With the same vote, the board also deemed assistant football coaches Frank McLeod, Zachary Sweat and Josh Grimsley as ineligible for future coaching positions. Return for updates. Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com. This wasnt about that (a single missed workout). John "Spider" Miller is an old Canton coach who disagrees with Jack Rose on Mayfield, but agrees on McDaniels. A federal judge filed an order Thursday to . Canton McKinley head football coach Marcus Wattley and seven assistant coaches were suspended last week by the Canton City School District after the 17-year-old reported what happened to him on . They lose sleep over me and the boys.. Pattakos said he believesthe assistant coach, whom he did not name, wanted Wattleys job. The lawyer representing the students family did not immediately return 19 News request for comment. I learned from a great man how to coach football," Wattley told media members during a Monday interview. Pattakos intends to refile the lawsuit as soon as is practicable. In a statement, he said the goal of the new lawsuit is to hold the school district leaders accountable for the harm they caused the coaches when they failed to fully investigate the accusations, did not inform the public truthfully and did not treat all involved parties fairly. 11, 2021 at 4:07 PM PDT. McKinley won a rematch in the playoffs two weeks later. Canton McKinley High School head football coach Marcus Wattley placed on administrative leave along with seven assistants More Headlines: Canton's history-making fire chief reveals big. He went on to play at the University of Kentucky and in the Canadian Football League with Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatchewan. McKinley went 14-6 in Wattleys two seasons as head coach, with a couple of second-round playoff losses and an 0-2 record against rival Massillon. A roughly two-hour disciplinary hearing was held Monday with Canton City school officials about whether Wattley should retain his job as a district academic and athletic liaison. Following the hearings, the superintendent is expected to make a recommendation to the Canton City school board regarding their employment outside of their coaching positions, according to Canton City Schools spokeswoman Lisa Reicosky. The score stayed 12-3. See below to read the full 10-page ruling from Judge Adams: Copyright 2022 WOIO. Dan Reardon has been named Canton McKinley High School's new head football coach. Seven high school football coaches have been fired from McKinley Senior High School in Canton, Ohio on Thursday following an incident in which a Jewish student-athlete was forced to eat a . He also had exceptional talent that few McKinley coaches have recently enjoyed. The Canton McKinley vs. Massillon Washington rivalry is the 13th most played rivalry in the nation, with 129 meetings between the schools. You're the king, you're the prince.' His statements were supported by five McKinley football players who attended the school board meeting in support of their eight coaches. In an 11-page decision, Judge John Adams wrote there would be no ruling against the coaches "merely because it (the court) may not believe the plaintiff's factual allegations." "Black Hebrew Israelites consider themselves Jews; I also consider them to be a Black religionbearing many of the markers of African American spirituality," she said. He said the student had stopped regularly communicating with his coaches, had left workouts early, and had been acting disrespectfully to coaches. "Looking back," Hall said, "Cleveland wasn't the right time or the right place. For inexplicable reasons, the board denied this basic request and refused to listen to these young men, reflecting that the district's leadership is not interested in the truth of this matter, and is instead motivated by something else. He always tries to make the people around him better. I think I said, Im sorry for missing practice and I wont let it happen again or something across those lines, the player testified. McDaniels had a 26-year head coaching career that included head coaching stops at Warren G. Harding High School, Canton McKinley High School and Massillon Jackson High School. Assistant coachesCade Brodie and Tyler Thatcher, and assistant baseball coach Romero Harris, who hasrelated weight room duties, also were dismissed from the team, but they do not have separate jobs with the Canton City School District. "As a coach, you can be frustrated watching that. If he refused to eat the pizza,the playerwas told that his teammates would be forced to perform additional drills and "there was a question of whether he would be able to stay on the team," Gilbert said. The coach was trying to teach a lesson.". . This community deserves afull and thorough investigation and its obvious that this hasnt happened, said Pattakos, as he pointed to the players. CANTON, Ohio (WOIO) - Canton City Schools held a special meeting Thursday evening that addressed a controversy involving seven McKinley High School football coaches and a student-athlete.. Frank McLeod, one of the assistant coaches who was dismissed, on Tuesday said he believes the district's surveillance video clears the coaches. The Bulldogs went 9-3 in Wattleys first year, winning a Federal League championship. CANTON, Ohio The Canton City School District has fired head high school football coach Marcus Wattley and six of his assistants following an investigation into misconduct against a player. Its unclear whether the player told the coaches about the yardwork. The Rev. McKinley went 14-6 in Wattley's two seasons as head coach, with a couple of second-round playoff losses and an 0-2 record against rival Massillon. December 4, 2004 (at Canton Fawcett Stadium) Canton McKinley 3 7 0 0 10 (11-4) Cincinnati Colerain 6 17 20 7 50 (15-0) Coaches: Brian Cross (Canton McKinley); Kerry Coombs (Cincinnati Colerain) Attendance (unofficial): 16,885. The district has sent its investigation to the Ohio Department of Education's professional conduct division andthe Canton City Police Department for review. This is an extraordinary tactic that is used to teach an extraordinary lesson to an extraordinary young man under extraordinary circumstances.. Black Hebrews, who are more traditional in their practice of Judaism. He always tried to do the best he could at anything he did. Antonio Hall was named head coach of the McKinley High School football team on Monday. I remember them cussing at me, but I remember Coach Wattley saying that if I dont eat it then … the team is going to keep doing the workouts and if I was to leave, then I couldnt come back, he said. Grimsleys message advised Humphrey that he had concerns with how the student was treated. Assistant coach Badre ElBardawil, who also had beensuspended on May 26 with the other coaches, remains an assistant coach with McKinley because district officials said the evidence did not show that he performed in the same manner as the other coaches.. CANTON, Ohio Eight coaches from the Canton McKinley High School football team have been placed on administrative leave, including head coach Marcus Wattley. He disputed Pattakos' statement that Wattley had offered the player chicken nuggets or any alternative food. Anna players and coaches pose with the Division VI state championship trophy following the team's 48-14 win over New Middletown Springfield on Friday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. While the roughly 12-minute video doesn't have audio, McLeodsaid you can tell by the body language of the coaches and players that the player wasn't being threatened. Ed Gilbert, the attorney representing the player and his family, told 3News in a statement: "We feel the court made a clear error here. This was an extraordinary situation we all can learn from, Pattakos said. Example video title will go here for this video, New procedures, clinical trials offer hope for pancreatic cancer patients | Health Yeah. They needed to get through to him some other way. MEDINA, Ohio - Solon and Midview both picked up big wins in the OHSAA Division I regional semifinals at Medina High School on Tuesday night. Judge John Adams found there was not enough evidence to support allegations made by legal representation of the student-athlete. I'll buy you a pizza and we can all watch you eat. Rose's Tigers beat McDaniels' Bulldogs in an overtime shootout in the 100th game between the old rivals, in 1994. According to his deposition testimony, the players father first introduced the family to the Hebrew Israelite faith in 2013. He said he missed some workouts because he was getting paid to do yard work for a coachs friend, a woman at his moms church and his grandfather. In an online post that accompanies the transcripts, Pattakos writes thatthe players testimony, along with testimony from his father, another former coach and affidavits from his former teammates, prove the coaches never knowingly violated the players religious beliefs, a key contention that elevated the story to an international level and is the basis for the players federal civil rights lawsuit. Pattakos said he believesthe assistant coach wanted Wattleys job. Rose views McDaniels as a coach's son who paid attention and absorbed every lesson. More on Canton McKinley football: Canton McKinley Bulldogs 2022 high school football preview. The player said he continued to protest and at one point kicked the box, but the box was brought back to him. Disciplinary hearings for assistant coaches Joshua Grimsley and Zachary Sweat, both of whom are school resource assistants, are scheduled over the next week. According to the district, the coaches knew the teen was a member of the Hebrew Israelite faith, and that consuming pork was in violation of his religion's practices. That's why he is going to be successful in Vegas. 1940 Massillon Washington High School. He saidthe video would not be publicly released due to federal student privacy regulations. It was rushed. Video shows McKinley High School player eating pizza during workout. Canton McKinley High School Head Football Coach Marcus Wattley and six assistant coaches have been fired after trying to force a player to eat pork against his religious beliefs. She said the support she got from other teams was 'overwhelming. The student, now 18, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Akron in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, against the Canton City School District and his former coaches. McKinley Football Staff Players (57) Staff (1) Antonio Hall Head Coach Are you the coach? After meeting for more than an hour in executive session, the board of education unanimously voted to terminate Wattley's contract, along with the following other coaches: Wattley and the remaining six coaches were originally on administrative leave following an accusation that they forced a student to eat pepperoni pizza after he showed up late to a non-mandatory practice on May 24. We remain proud to fight for these wrongly maligned coaches and clear their good names in court, Pattakos said. The coaches had filed the lawsuit in July 2021 after they said their reputations had been damaged by the false accusation that they punished the then-17-year-old football player on May 24, 2021, by forcing him to eat a pepperoni pizza while knowing that it was against his religious beliefs. One of the state's most successful coaches . Ben McDaniels (born June 6, 1980) is an American football coach who is the Wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). Several years earlier, Lee Kuberacki had explored transferring to McKinley High School, but he stayed at Canton South partly because the Bulldogs already had a quarterback McDaniels. This young man wasnt forced to eat anything, Pattakos said. Mike DeWine suffered injury while in East Palestine, Ohio State Fire Marshal: Oakwood factory fire was not the result of a criminal act, Improvements coming to I-480 near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Ohio football coaches allegedly force Hebrew Israelite student to eat pork for missing practice, Canton City Schools fire 7 football coaches accused of forcing a Hebrew Israelite student to eat pork, Whistleblower says he was unfairly fired following Canton McKinley High School pizza-eating incident, Former Canton-McKinley football coaches sue school district leaders, father of athlete at center of pizza scandal, Closed Captioning/Audio Description Problems. NFL Scouting Combine quick hits:Andrew Berry feels Greg Newsome II is 'going to be a pretty big part' of Browns' future McDaniels, a Canton McKinley High School graduate, was all smiles as he . 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