See below to read the full 10-page ruling from Judge Adams: Copyright 2022 WOIO. Canton McKinley head football coach Marcus Wattley and seven assistant coaches were suspended last week by the Canton City School District after the 17-year-old reported what happened to him on . "When Josh was talking in the offensive huddle, you would have thought Coach McD was talking to us. McKinley football player Mani Powell said he wants his coaches back. While we remain eager to present our claims against Mr. Gilbert and his clients to a jury and further clear the coaches good names, it is most important to the coaches to obtain complete justice in this matter, which requires that all responsible parties, including the (Canton City school leaders), be parties to the trial on the claims at issue, Pattakos wrote. CANTONMarcus Wattley broke his silence Monday about the discipline of a player that led to the end of his career as McKinley High Schools head football coach. Further action may be taken on the employment contracts of the four oustedcoaches Wattley, Grimsley,McLeodand Sweat who hold other positions within the district, Talbert said. We remain proud to fight for these wrongly maligned coaches and clear their good names in court, Pattakos 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. McLeods disciplinary hearing with school officials over his job as a safety and security liaison was held earlier Monday. Repository reporters Kelli Weir, Charita Goshay,Steve Doerschuk and Josh Weir contributed to this story. Caserio is general manager of the Houston Texans. All rights reserved. Video shows McKinley High School player eating pizza during workout. McKinley's Harold Fannin is the Federal League Player of the Year,. It is a substantial piece of justice for the coaches that they are very grateful for.". He was calling an audible. John Carroll went on to an 18-12 win. 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.. If not, then you can leave. Thats the lesson.. Several years earlier, Lee Kuberacki had explored transferring to McKinley High School, but he stayed at Canton South partly because the Bulldogs already had a quarterback McDaniels. McLeods disciplinary hearing with school officials over his job as a safety and security liaison was held earlier Monday. Invite the coach In an online post that accompanies the transcripts, Pattakos writes thatthe players testimony, along with testimony from his father, another former coach and affidavits from his former teammates, prove the coaches never knowingly violated the players religious beliefs, a key contention that elevated the story to an international level and is the basis for the players federal civil rights lawsuit. But of course, we don't know they acted as a group. I will defer to Judge Haupt and her able staff to handle. Grimsleys message advised Humphrey that he had concerns with how the student was treated. You did not serve the community.. to me "dogging" Wattley because you couldn't stand the fact I said McK football is in a much better place now than two years ago and then had to make your 2nd profile of the day yesterday to pose . Its unclear whether the player told the coaches about the yardwork. They have insisted they weretrying to rescue a troubled player whose off-the-field behavior was influencing his teammates and was jeopardizing his future as a Division I college athlete. Pattakos wrote the evidence collected during the discovery phase of the lawsuit revealed information that wasn't known when the lawsuit was filed in July 2021, including the admission by the player that didnt explicitly tell the coaches about his Hebrew Israelite beliefs and that a surveillance video the district used as the basis of its internal investigation was missing a two-minute span of time. The player blames his former coaches for describing him as a troubled kid in the media asthe reason his offers to play Division Ifootball fell through. Im not going to respond to every allegation that comes up because its like a moving target. Deservedly so. (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 Edward Gilbert, who is representing the 17-year-old player at the center of the controversyand his family, on June 14 released the surveillance video that was taken on May 24 when the family says Wattley and his staff forced the player to eat an entire pepperoni pizza against his Hebrew Israelite religious beliefs as punishment for missing a voluntary workout. He has beenan assistant coach at McKinley, GlenOak and St. Thomas Aquinas. Talbert went on to say that video would not be publicly released due to federal student privacy regulations. "The football program, which has a long and proud history, is an important part of our school culture and our community," Talbert added in a statement that was read by Board President John M. Rinaldi Thursday. Rose prefers Carr to Baker Mayfield based on pulling out wins in fourth quarters. As we approach trial, any attempt to taint a jury pool is truly not a practice I would ever engage. Besides pork, the player said he also abstains from eating seafood because its a bottom feeder, just like a pig.. Tournament Game. 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.. The player said in his rush to eat the pizza so his teammates could stop the workout sooner, he believes he left some cheese on the pizza. Talbert said counselors will be available for the football players Friday. He later called the special board meeting that resulted in the] group of coaches losing their jobs. Canton City Schools' administrative team received a report of an incident that took place during its strength and conditioning practice on Monday. But they should have known that he didnt eat pork, he contends. Canton family's faith at the center of McKinley High football coach abuse allegations, Head football coach Marcus Wattley, six others dismissed for misconduct. 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. All rights reserved. "He's been the best offensive coordinator in the NFL, I think. He described various drills, including the Hallway of Hell workout, that players had to complete when they were absent. 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. Head coach Joe Mazzulla couldn't hide his . This is not something that he made up, Pattakos said. CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - New developments occurred this week in the pizza scandal involving a former Canton McKinley football player and his coaches. CANTON McKinley High School head football coach Antonio Hall has built quite a rapport with the Bowling Green coaching staff. Meanwhile,there is still pending litigation in the case the coaches filed against the player, his family, and Canton City Schools. 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. ', Greece's worst-ever rail crash kills dozens, crushes cars, Dust storm turns skies across Texas orange causing low visibility conditions for drivers, What to know about OHSAA district wrestling: Area wrestlers heading to four sites. Pattakos said he believesthe assistant coach wanted Wattleys job. 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. The weekly sessions are now monthly check-ins. ", "It's (the dismissal) not going to fix the damage that has been done," said Peter Pattakos, the attorney representing the coaches. Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com. And he believes they should have stopped the punishment when he said that day that it violated his religion. 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. 11, 2021 at 4:07 PM PDT. 1940 Massillon Washington High School. A federal judge in U.S. District Court dismissed seven former football coaches from a lawsuit filed by a former football player and his family, citing insufficient evidence to support allegations that the player was forced to eat food against his religion. He didnt provide a reason why. He has committed to playing football at a Division II university this fall. 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. "Thom used to tell me, 'You can play him on defense, but if he gets hurt, you're fired.'. Wattley was hired at McKinley in 2019 and McLeod has been coaching since 2004. Gilbert has said the family has agreed to meet with district officials before pursuing a lawsuit. CANTON, Ohio (WOIO) - Canton City Schools held a special meeting Thursday evening that addressed a controversy involving seven McKinley High School football coaches and a student-athlete.. Canton McKinley High School head football coach Marcus Wattley placed on administrative leave along with seven assistants More Headlines: Canton's history-making fire chief reveals big. 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. No. The coach was trying to teach a lesson.". 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. Talbert said surveillance videogave administrators the information they needed to warrant their recommendations to the board. From 2004 to 2011, Reardon served as head coach at Youngstown Ursuline. So do my clients.". Attorney Ed Gilbert, who is representing the player and his family, called the coaches explanation for their punishment bizarre and a desperate attempt to try to hurt (the players) family. He said no matter what the coaches say, it doesnt excuse them for coercing a player to eat pork against his religious beliefs. I learned from a great man how to coach football," Wattley told media members during a Monday interview. Pattakos said those two minutes of video would have shown the player shaking hands and hugging the coaches after the discipline was over. The player, who transferred to another school district last school year, said hes still dealing with anxiety and thinks about the May 24 discipline every day. Wattley and his staff deserved better than this, and more importantly, so did the young men in that locker room and the whole Canton McKinley community. "This incident does not reflect the Canton City School District's culture of protecting the physical and emotional wellbeing of our students.". Thats the lesson that needed to get through to him.. Bulldogs logo for the Canton City School District in Ohio. Updated: Jun. Attorney Michael Kahlenberg, who represents the player and his father in the coaches defamation lawsuit, said he cannot comment on pending litigation. 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. Four young men in this program have been shot in this last calendar year alone, Pattakos said. The truth about the Canton school board's indefensible decision to fire McKinley football coach Marcus Wattley and his staff over false accusations that they forced a player to eat pork against his religion "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes." 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." 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. 7 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. 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. Many religious traditions, including smaller traditions that are not well-known to a wider Western public,have food prohibitions and it would be a considerable religiousviolation to force someone to eat something that is considered a religious taboo.".
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