Several football coaches at a high school in Canton, OH–including the head coach–were fired on June 3 after they allegedly forced a player to eat a pepperoni pizza.
The seven coaches at McKinley Senior High School had initially been suspended after the player, who is a Hebrew Israelite, reported the incident to the school district; the player was being disciplined on May 24 for missing a team weight-lifting session a few days earlier and part of the punishment involved eating the pizza. The player told the coaches that doing so would violate his religious beliefs; he was allowed to remove the pepperoni from the pizza but the pork residue on the pizza was still in violation of his beliefs.
During a June 3 meeting, the Canton City Board of Education unanimously voted in favor of not renewing the contracts for the coaches after investigating the matter. Superintendent Jeff Talbert said that surveillance video of the incident showed “an ill-mannered attempt to instill accountability and discipline in our students. The type of behavior was inappropriate, demeaning, and divisive.”
Peter Pattakos, the attorney for Marcus Wattley, the head coach of the team prior to the incident, defended his client in a statement to Fox News and 3News. “This young man is one of the most talented members of the team and he’s let the team down, not showing up to practices, not communicating with his team, not fulfilling the role of a team leader. The idea was, ‘Okay young man, you’re so special? You want special treatment? Are you hungry? I’ll buy you a pizza and we can all watch you eat. You’re the king, you’re the prince.’ It was along those lines, and the kid knew he was being disciplined. The coach was trying to teach a lesson.”
He added that Wattley offered chicken nuggets to the player instead of pizza but the player ate the pizza instead. The Repository, a local newspaper, reported that five players corroborated Pattakos’ account of the incident and that the player has since apologized to the students and to his other team members. Pattakos alleged to The Repository that an assistant coach shared “an exaggerated version to administrators and the player’s family” because the coach “wanted Wattley’s job.” He also accused the district of rushing the investigation.
Edward L. Gilbert, the attorney for the player’s family, denied that Wattley offered the player other food options as part of the punishment, according to The Repository. Talbert also pushed back against Pattakos’ claim that the investigation was rushed, arguing that the video they obtained provided sufficient evidence.
The player is currently seeking counseling and the player’s family reportedly plans to sue to the district over the matter.
