Talbert said it was the surveillance video that gave him the information he needed to make his recommendation to fire Wattley and his assistants. So then after theyre still not listening to me, the teams still around me doing the punishment, so I just eat the pizza, the player testified. He was offered chicken (nuggets) and (told), You can sit here and eat. This is an extraordinary tactic that is used to teach an extraordinary lesson to an extraordinary young man under extraordinary circumstances.. I love them, they know that. "As a coach, you can be frustrated watching that. We have a number of careers that have been destroyed here. 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. Earlier this month, Canton City Schools Superintendent Jeff Talbert released a video statement to, "set the record straight" about the recent firing of seven McKinley High School football coaches. When Pattakos asked the player why he participated in a rib-eating contest with his teammates in 2019, he recalled that he had asked Wattley whether the ribs were beef or pork but Wattley didnt know. CANTON A shortened fall camp and two abbreviated scrimmages left Mentor football coach Matt Gray a little unsure what he had in his 2021 football team heading into the season opener Aug.. Hall was a school kid when he watched McDaniels' 1992-94 run as a McKinley quarterback; then he was a lineman on McKinley teams that won state titles in 1997 and '98, with Josh's dad, Thom, as head coach, and Josh's brother, Ben, at quarterback. Hall, who also serves as McKinley's athletic director,. Other lawsuits filedEx-McKinley football player sues, alleges coaches coerced him to eat pizza against beliefs. Note: This video has been altered to protect kids' identities. The Canton Repository has agreed to not name the 17-year-old player, who has received interest from Division I colleges. CANTON, Ohio (WJW) The Canton City School District Board of Education held a special meeting Thursday evening to discuss further discipline for a group of football coaches. 3 Nordonia (17-5), 7 p.m. Saturday . Wattley was hired at McKinley in 2019 and McLeod has been coaching since 2004. He was one of several football players who attended the disciplinary hearing Monday to show their support for Wattley and McLeod. Superintendent Jeff Talbert said it was surveillance video that gave him the information he needed to make his recommendation. We will continue to make every reasonable effort to ensure that justice is served in this case.. The deposition, where the player testified under oath, was conducted as part of the defamation lawsuit that the coaches filed a year ago against the player, the players father, Kenny Walker, their attorney Edward Gilbert and former assistant coach Josh Grimsley. He did it a few times and I remember saying, 'The kid is calling audibles as a freshman. Pro Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for . Melt Bar & Grilled closes 2 Ohio locations, Ohio Gov. He said he would have eaten the chicken nuggets. … It was nice seeing him, but like, what was going through my mind at the time was the disrespect that they put me through, he testified. It was rushed. A high school football coach and six assistant coaches McKinley Senior High School in Canton, Ohio, have been fired after they allegedly forced a player to eat pork against his religious beliefs . The lawsuit also had been filed against Canton City school leaders but they were dismissed from the case in January. DIVISION I STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. Gilbert said the player told the coach at least 10 times that he did not eat pork because he and his family are Hebrew Israelites, a faith thatstrictly forbids the consumption of pork or pork residue. Kuberacki went on to a fascinating Air Force career that is its own story. Canton McKinley pizza scandal: Judge dismisses former football coaches from lawsuit. Pattakos said he believesthe assistant coach, whom he did not name, wanted Wattleys job. HENDERSON, Nev. Growing up in Canton, Josh McDaniels vividly remembers seeing stenciled helmets painted on the double-yellow lines on his way to McKinley High School. He has been on staff, mostly as offensive coordinator, for all nine of Bill Belichick's New England Super Bowls. You can get anywhere . They lose sleep over me and the boys.. In the meantime, district leadership, including Superintendent Jeff Talbert and every board member who approved this decision, should be ashamed, not least for making such a momentous decision based on such an obviously faulty and rushed investigation. "This incident does not reflect the Canton City School District's culture of protecting the physical and emotional wellbeing of our students.". Every day . 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). Powell said Wattley and all of the assistant coaches have becomefather figures to him and his teammates. He recalled two specific instances, including one where a pepperoni pizza was offered, where he says he told the coaches that he didnt eat pork and the coaches gave him an alternative, such as chicken. Example video title will go here for this video. "(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. Other football players who were at the May 24 workout have saidthe coaches never forced the playerto eat the pizza and they gave the player the choice of eating chicken nuggets instead. We remain proud to fight for these wrongly maligned coaches and clear their good names in court, Pattakos said. 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. Black Hebrews, who are more traditional in their practice of Judaism. So do my clients.". "I ran around the corner seeing nothing but open space. Grimsley's attorney, Bartholomew T. Freeze, could not be reached Thursday. I will defer to Judge Haupt and her able staff to handle. The former Canton McKinley football coaches who have been waiting for more than a year for a chance to clear their names in court have decided to wait a while longer. 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. McKinley's Harold Fannin is the Federal League Player of the Year,. CANTON, Ohio (WJW)- The family of a McKinley High School football player is calling for more action after it says the head coach forced the teen to eat a pizza. Overall, he was a coach for 40-years and was named to the Ohio high school coaches hall of fame. The incident made international headlines and has spawned three lawsuits. … 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.. I said I dont eat pepperoni because I dont want to eat it because the grease is cooked in with the cheese. CANTON, Ohio (WOIO) - During a special meeting of the Canton City School Board on Thursday evening, the board voted unanimously to terminate the day jobs of three former assistant football. Thats the lesson that needed to get through to him.. Location: Massillon, Ohio. See below to read the full 10-page ruling from Judge Adams: Copyright 2022 WOIO. 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. Fletcher played 256 NFL games, third all-time among linebackers behind Junior Seau (268) and Clay Matthews (278). The Canton McKinley grad could be looking at drafting a new quarterback with the No. "I'm very excited Josh is getting another opportunity. He was one of several football players who attended the disciplinary hearing Monday to show their support for Wattley. Canton family's faith at the center of McKinley High football coach abuse allegations, Head football coach Marcus Wattley, six others dismissed for misconduct. But, he still faces the possibility of. He said he began seeing a counselor in June 2021 and has made progress. Before a playing run in the Canadian Football League, Hall spent time with the Indianapolis Colts, whose head coach was Tony Dungy. His statements were supported by five McKinley football players who attended the school board meeting in support of their eight coaches. Video shows McKinley High School player eating pizza during workout. Video that shows the events that led to 7 McKinley High School coaches being removed. The sprints werent working,Pattakos said. London Fletcher ran up and dove and hit the back of my ankle. The others mentioned above stayed in football. Its not like they put their hands on me, but they forced me to eat it, he said. A. Mentor (9-4) [I:1] L. 21-34. Add the football angle of Massillon-Hoban and this is a can't miss. Canton McKinley High School Head Football Coach Marcus Wattley and five assistant coaches are suing Canton City school officials and others for spreading "false, malicious and extremely defamatory statements" that cost them their jobs and their reputations. In 2018, Dungy sharply criticized Josh McDaniels for backing out of a head coaching opportunity with the Colts, which is part of the complex national narrative. "He's been the best offensive coordinator in the NFL, I think. Gilbert has said the player was told that if he didn't eat the pizza, that his teammates would be forced to perform additional drills and that the player's status with the team was in question. "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. 2023 www.cantonrep.com. When head coaches like Bob Rupert, Dave Cady and Mike Riley were routinely taking Bulldog teams to the Final Four, they benefitted with better talent, better support, and players with better attitudes, which definitely contributed to their success at Canton McKinley. He wasnt forced to eat pork. 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. 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." 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. Four young men in this program have been shot in this last calendar year alone, Pattakos said. CANTON, Ohio There are new developments in the scandal that once crippled the Canton McKinley football team. After I got off the phone call, I thought to myself, like I cant like what they did to me was just too far extreme disrespect, so I just left it there.. Caserio is general manager of the Houston Texans. 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. Gilbert, who did not attend the school board meeting, said the player has been devastated by the situation and continues to undergo psychological counseling. The district has declined to provide details of what happened on May 24. Former Canton McKinley Senior High School head football coach Marcus Wattley and five of his former assistant coaches are suing nine people they say have damaged their reputations in the. Nobody is perfect, not even Coach Wattley is perfect and he knows that. Im not going to respond to every allegation that comes up because its like a moving target. He previously served as the quarterbacks coach for the University of Michigan and also previously serving as the interim wide receivers coach in late 2018. 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.. I dont know what they would have thought, but what was going through my mind at the time was if I would have told them, they would have still had me come to the trainer, but I couldnt do nothing with my shoulder at the time. 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. Dude I don't coach at McKinley nor have I ever but I think you feel like you was entitled t to his job smh he was qualified to be the head coach . McKinley football player Mani Powellsaid he wants his coaches back. John "Spider" Miller is an old Canton coach who disagrees with Jack Rose on Mayfield, but agrees on McDaniels. 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