An Ohio high school football player and his parents have filed a federal civil rights law suit, alleging his coaches violated his religiou...
An Ohio high school football player and his parents have filed a federal civil rights law suit, alleging his coaches violated his religious beliefs that ban eating pork by forcing him to swallow pizza that was covered with pepperoni grease.
The former Canton McKinley High School student, who is identified in the court document as K.W. (Junior), seeks four millions of dollars in damages for violations of his religious freedom and constitutional rights.
The athlete says in the lawsuit that coaches were notified he did not eat pork or pork residue as a member of the Hebrew Israelite religious faith.
The alleged incident took place May 24 during an offseason workout that was held inside the high school's basketball gym.
Surveillance video footage shows K.W. (Junior) walking over to a chair that had been placed at center court while his teammates trailed behind carrying metal weight plates.
Ohio high school football player identified as K.W. (Junior) in a federal law suit filed this week reached for pizza while sitting at center court while his then teammates at Canton McKinley High School participated in a mandatory training program on May 24. The 18-year-old and his family accuse six former coaches of violating his religious freedom and constitutional rights by forcing him to eat pizza covered with pepperoni grease as punishment for having missed a workout on May 20
K.W. (Junior) walks across the gym with a pizza box after he was reportedly forced to eat pizza with pepperoni grease on May 20 by his former coaches at Canton McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio
According to the federal lawsuit, the coaching staff punished K.W. (Junior) because he had missed a training session on May 20. He had skipped the mandatory workout because he had injured his shoulder while lifting weights.
Footage shows about 30 players holding the 40-pound weigh plates and running sprints. Following the end of the session, former coach Marcus Wattley ordered him to eat the pizza and indicated his spot on the team was at risk if he didn't, the lawsuit says.
Wattley and assistant coaches Josh Grimsley, Cade Brodie, Zach Sweat, Frank McLeod, Tyler Thatcher, and Romero Harris, a weight room coach and baseball assistant, say the player chose to remove pepperoni and eat the pizza rather than an alternative food.
They weren't aware it violated his religious beliefs, according to a defamation case they filed previously against the teen's father, his attorney Ed Gilbert and school officials.
The six coaches who were fired June 3 have always maintained that they had given him the option to eat chicken nuggets or pizza,
Marcus Wattley, former head coach at Canton McKinley High School, approached K.W. (Junior's) father after the incident to notify him that they staff had punished the teen for missing the workout. He and six assistants were fired June 3 and have filed a defamation law suit against the student's father, his lawyer and th Canton City School District
A law suit was filed this week by a former student at Canton McKinley High School. The 18-year-old student claims six coaches violated his religious beliefs by forcing him to eat pizza that was covered with pepperoni grease.
Members of the Canton McKinley High School run sprints while K.W. (Junior) sits in the middle of the basketball court eating pizza
Gilbert told WKYC-TV that the lawsuit was filed after the delay of a settlement that has been reached with the Canton City School District.
An attorney representing most of the coaches, Peter Pattakos, told The Repository newspaper of Canton that they have statements from over a dozen eyewitnesses that indicate the family's allegations are false.
However, Pattakos told WKYC that no agreements had been reached between the teen, his family and the school district.
Frank Mcleod (left) and Tyler Thatcher (right) are two of the six former coaches at Canton McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio, who are named in a federal civil law suit in which an 18-year-old alleges his religious and constitutional rights were violated when he was forced to eat pizza covered with pepperoni grease
Joshua Grimsley (left) and Zachary Sweat (right) are among the six coaches who were fired
Cade Brodie (left) and Romero Harris (right) are among the six former coaches being sued for several millions dollars for reportedly forcing a high school football player at Canton McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio, to eat pizza covered with pepperoni grease despite knowing that it was against the teen's Hebrew Israelite religion beliefs that prohibit him consuming pork or pork residue
'There was no settlement with the district over this event for good reason. Ohio law is clear that coaches have wide discretion in fulfilling their duties to train and discipline their players, and case after case has been thrown out of court that, unlike this one, involve real misconduct that caused substantial harm and even death to students, because the state is immune from lawsuits where the coaches were acting within their broad discretion. Any settlement paid by the district in this case would have been an egregious waste of public funds,' Pattakos said in a statement.
'The coaches' defamation lawsuit against attorney Ed Gilbert and K.W.'s father in connection with their wild and fictitious extortion campaign has been pending in Stark County since July,' he added. 'This lawsuit they just filed is only part of their effort to play defense after having been called out on their lies in having started this whole mess.'
According to the law suit, K.W. (Junior's) religious and constitutional rights were violated. He and his father converted the Hebrew-Israelite religious faith when he was around 10 years old. The religion prohibits the consumption pork or pork residue
K.W. (Junior) reaches for pizza while his teammates held 40-pound weight plates during a training session
Canton City School District Superintendent Jeff Talbert said in a written statement that the claims in the family's lawsuit are meritless and the school board will address them through the legal process, the newspaper reported.
The district suspended several coaches after the allegations arose. The board subsequently voted not to renew coaching contracts for four coaches and deemed three other assistant coaches as ineligible for future coaching positions.
The now-18-year-old student has transferred to a different district after facing 'threats and ridicule' from teammates and the public because of the situation, according to his lawsuit.
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