Attorney Ed Gilbert, who is representing the 17-year-old football player and his family, said Thursday that he agrees with the school board's decision to dismiss the coaches, but added, There is no joy in seeing this. The coaches, who were dismissed from their coaching and school district jobs last year,have maintained that they did not force the player to eat anything, that they did not know about the players religious faith, they had offered him chicken nuggets as an alternative and it was the players decision to pick off the pepperoni and cheese and eat the pizza. 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. 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. Black Israelites, who are most nationalistic and furthest from traditional Judaism. newsletter. Superintendent Jeff Talbert called the actions of the coaches "inappropriate, demeaning, and divisive. Grimsley's attorney, Bartholomew T. Freeze, could not be reached Thursday. ", Attorney Michael J. Kahlenberg, who is representing the player and Walker, said the voluntary dismissal of a civil lawsuit is common, but, "Our pool of potential jurors deserves better. When Pattakos asked him whether he planned to cut the coaches out of his life forever, the player said, I mean, I dont plan on rebuilding no relationship we had.. The sprints werent working,Pattakos said. My job is in the courtroom, not the press room.. "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. and last updated 6:19 AM, Jun 02, 2021. The lawsuit also had been filed against Canton City school leaders but they were dismissed from the case in January. Meanwhile,there is still pending litigation in the case the coaches filed against the player, his family, and Canton City Schools. I'll buy you a pizza and we can all watch you eat. GlenOak 22. McKinley's Harold Fannin Jr. runs after a catch against GlenOak at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021. The player said he felt badabout eating the ribs after seeing news reports in 2021 that the ribs had been pork. His father, during his own separate deposition testimony, said he had found the tobaccowrapperin his son's pants pockets and that he had told one of thecoaches that his son was grounded for smoking. The father acknowledged that he never explicitly said whether the smoking referred to a cigaror marijuana. According to Gilbert,Wattley on May 24 ordered the player to sit in a chair in the middle of the gym and consume an entire pepperoni pizza while his teammates andcoaches yelled at him. Nobody is perfect, not even Coach Wattley is perfect and he knows that. We have a number of careers that have been destroyed here. Thats why it raises concerns when this young man doesnt text his coaches and explains where he is when they are expecting them to be at a voluntary workout, even though it is voluntary. Las Vegas is, and he's going to rock it 'til the wheels fall off. The district has sent its investigation to the Ohio Department of Education's professional conduct division andthe Canton City Police Department for review. … I still have visuals of them yelling at me and stuff to eat it, and I felt like my religion didnt matter to them, and they threw it out the window, and I told them I didnt eat it and they made me feel some type of way.. "We are confident that under Coach Hall's leadership, our football program will be in very capable and experienced hands and our student-athletes will have a rewarding experience," Rinaldi said. I don't think that's going to happen now, with Josh there.". Updated: 1:20 p.m., Thursday, June 3, 2021. CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - New developments occurred this week in the pizza scandal involving a former Canton McKinley football player and his coaches. The lawsuit also names Canton City Schools as a defendant. Last offseason, former McKinley star Harold Fannin signed with . It was just hurting to lift it in the air., When a coach sent him a text message asking him about his absence, the player responded that Ill owe you Monday.. Hall, who is coming up on the one-year anniversary of his hire as McKinleys athletic director, playedon McKinleys 1997 and 1998 state championshipteams. "It was a situation that deserves to be investigated so we're going to investigate it," Talbert told The Repository. John Carroll went on to an 18-12 win. violated the player's constitutional rights, the districts completed internal investigation, interviews with five of the coaches and three players, Hebrew Israelites do consider themselves to be Jewish, was hired as the districts interim head football coach for the upcoming season, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. We wont stop fighting until we get them back., More about McKinley's new head coach: Interim McKinley Bulldogs football coach Antonio Hall will look to 'put our kids first'. More on Canton McKinley football: Canton McKinley Bulldogs 2022 high school football preview. 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. I love them, they know that. "This incident does not reflect the Canton City School District's culture of protecting the physical and emotional wellbeing of our students.". Gilbert has said the family has agreed to meet with district officials before pursuing a lawsuit. Attorney Peter Pattakos, the lead attorney representing six of the former McKinley football coaches in two of the lawsuits related to the pizza-eating incident, on Thursday released a 298-page transcript of the players roughlyseven-hour testimony that was taken as part of a court deposition. Canton City Schools' administrative team received a report of an incident that took place during its strength and conditioning practice on Monday. Its absolutely, totally ridiculous, Gilbert said. Nobody wins in this.. "(Former St. Vincent-St. Mary head coach Dan) Boarman showed me a lot, how to take care of kids and everything that comes with the kid not just the football player but the student, the person and the athlete. Attorney Pattakos released the following statement on behalf of Marcus Wattley late Thursday night: "We asked the district to postpone their decision for at least one more week to allow for this matter to be fully and fairly investigated, including upon full consideration of the testimony of the numerous Canton McKinley football players who witnessed this event and were at tonight's board meeting wanting to tell anyone who would listen that the story being advanced by the alleged victim's father and attorney is not true. "He's been the best offensive coordinator in the NFL, I think. When Pattakos asked him if he believed that any of the coaches intended to harm him by violating his religious beliefs, the player responded: I dont know what they were what was going through their heads, so I dont know.. Learning what he learned from his first time, applying all the knowledge he's gained since then, it's just the perfect equation for success.". He was doing his best to teach an extraordinary athlete an important lesson., After the boards vote, Pattakos yelled to the superintendent and the board, This was a bad decision. . Do you support the move, Interim McKinley Bulldogs football coach Antonio Hall will look to 'put our kids first', Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Wattley's attorney Peter Pattakostold The Canton Repository on Mondaythat Wattley and the assistant coaches were trying to rescue a troubled player whose off-the-field behavior was negatively influencing his teammates and jeopardizing his future as a Division I college athlete. ', "His awareness of defenses really struck me. Location: Massillon, Ohio. Canton McKinley head football coach Marcus Wattley and six of his assistants were fired last week following allegations the coaches forced a 17-year-old player to eat an entire pepperoni. This was about something much bigger.. "They are not Christian or Muslim. Invite the coach More on the McDaniels family: Canton council approves street name change to honor McDaniels football family. He wasnt forced to eat pork. Dominique Sanders' squad had something to itself and 13th-seeded Canton McKinley. Ed Gilbert, the attorney representing the player and his family, told 3News in a statement: "We feel the court made a clear error here. Feb 9. Talbert, a former head football coach, said surveillance video of the high school's auxiliary gym gave administrators the information they needed to warrant their recommendations to dismiss the coaches for behavior that fell short of the district's professional and ethical standards. Pattakos said the punishment was not merely for missing a single voluntary workout. June 5, 2021, 1:55 PM PDT. He said he has lost respect for the McKinley coaches he once admired. CANTON - The former McKinley High School football player who is suing the Canton City School District and his former coaches over alleged civil rights violations says the coaches likely. The Canton City school board on Thursday voted unanimously to not renew the coaching contracts of Wattley,assistant coaches Cade Brodie and Tyler Thatcher, and assistant baseball coach Romero Harris, who hasrelated weight room duties. Attorney Michael Kahlenberg, who represents the player and his father in the coaches defamation lawsuit, said he cannot comment on pending litigation. With Josh going there now, Carr staying is a done deal.". CANTON, Ohio There are new developments in the scandal that once crippled the Canton McKinley football team. The decision left the player, the players father, Kenny Walker, attorney Edward Gilbert, and former assistant football coach Josh Grimsley as defendants. The students said the playerhas since apologized to them and to the coaches. Here's what we know nowabout the May 24incident along with what's next for the fired coaches and the Canton McKinley football team: Attorney Ed Gilbert, who is representing the player and his family,believesthe school district violated the player's constitutional rights when the coaches punished the playerformissing a May 20voluntarystrengthening and conditioning practice to nurse a slight shoulder injury he received during a priorpractice. I told them that I was smoking marijuana because I didnt want them to know that I was smoking Black & Milds because I thought Black & Milds was worse than marijuana, the player testified. 11, 2021 at 4:07 PM PDT. 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. I just always told them whenever they bought food and stuff, I told them I dont eat pork and left it at that, he said. Im in disbelief that Im basically accused of harming a kid when Ive done nothing but take care of kids in this community, said McLeod, a 1996 McKinley graduate who was an all-Ohio linebacker for McKinley. Melt Bar & Grilled closes 2 Ohio locations, Ohio Gov. We feel that he overreacted.". Bottom line: Head coach . As for the coaches who had other jobs within the district, there will be upcoming meetings to determine their futures in that capacity. CANTON, Ohio The lawyer for a Canton McKinley High School football player has released video that he says contradicts claims that the student was not forced to consume a pepperoni pizza. Few have better insight on McDaniels than current McKinley head coach Antonio Hall. Gilberts attorney, Stephen P. Griffin, declined comment. He said hes asked God for forgiveness for eating the pork residue. 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