The Canton City Board of Education unanimously voted not to renew the contracts of six McKinley Senior High School coaches for forcing a player to eat pepperoni pizza after missing a voluntary workout. These include head football coach Marcus Wattley, two assistants, three assistant football coaches, and an assistant baseball coach.
What We Know:
- The district originally placed the six on administrative leave after learning about the incident. According to the district, the six knew the boy practiced the Hebrew Israelite faith; they also knew the religion prohibits its members from eating pork or its derived products.
- To verify the athlete’s claims, the Board of Education conducted an investigation. While analyzing the allegation’s details, Superintendent Jeff Talbert reviewed surveillance footage, proving the boy told the truth. After this, Talbert called a special board meeting and made his decision on the coaches’ fates. Additionally, Talbert announced he would not release the recording due to federal student privacy regulations.
“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,” said Talbert. “The type of behavior was inappropriate, demeaning, and divisive.”
- The board confirmed athletic director Antonio Hall would replace Wattley as interim head football coach for the 2021 season. Furthermore, the district disqualified the three assistant football coaches from holding future coaching positions.
- Wattley’s attorney Peter Pattakos denied the accusations. He declared that the boy exaggerated some details and made up others. He also blamed an unknown assistant coach who told administrators and the player’s family an embellished version of the story. Alongside this, five football players and the other coaches remarked that Wattley offered the boy chicken nuggets instead of the pizza; they also said the boy could have left whenever. Despite this, the boy stayed and just removed the pepperoni slices from the pizza.
“This young man is one of the most talented members of the team and he’s… not showing up to practices… 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,” Patakos commented. Furthermore, he said the boy understood he was being punished.
- Ed Gilbert, the teen’s attorney, said he skipped the optional practice four days before the incident to nurse a sore shoulder. On the day of the occurrence, the coaches demanded the boy sit in the middle of the gym and eat the entire pizza. Although they allowed him to remove the pepperoni and cheese, some pork residue remained. If the boy did not follow Wattley’s orders, he would face additional drills and a lower rank on the team.
A statement written by Talbert and read by Board President John M. Rinaldi emphasized that although the football team holds a “long and proud history” at the school, the instructors’ actions do not reflect the district’s duty to protect the physical and emotional wellbeing of the students.
