Football Coach Suspended After Allegedly Forcing Jewish Player To Eat Pork

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

A high school football coach in Ohio was placed on administrative leave Wednesday after a Jewish football player accused him of making him eat pork, which violates the practices of his religion.

Seven other coaching staff in the football team were also suspended by The Canton City School district in the city of the same name.

Coach Marcus Wattley and seven assistant coaches forced a 17-year-old McKinley High School football player to eat a whole pepperoni pizza as a punishment after the student-athlete missed a weight lifting session on May 20, the boy's family attorney Edward L. Gilbert alleged.

Gilbert told 19News that the ordeal was traumatizing and disrespectful to the McKinley High junior, who is Jewish and follows a kosher diet.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/football-coach-suspended-after-allegedly-forcing-jewish-player-to-eat-pork/ar-AAKD2Bn

[SoonerPride]

1. Suspended?

Why wasn’t this creep fired? 🤬

[ProfessorGAC]

5. CBA

They have to go through the steps proscribed in the union contract.
I am assuming, of course, that these coaches are teachers, first.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

2. WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK?!!!

[hlthe2b]

3. What is it with these coaches bullying over hair, diet, and everything else...?

Clueless...

[Paladin]

16. Some things never seem to change.

Coaching is a lot like law enforcement---mostly good people, but always a few who have insufficient amounts of good character and morals, who end up pushing things over the line. Glad to see some punishment and public shaming being administered.

[msongs]

4. the big lies - sports build character nt

[DinahMoeHum]

6. "Sport reveals character, it doesn't build it,"

- Heywood Hale Broun, author and sportswriter

[stillcool]

7. I imagine they look just like cops

roid-rage and everything. Go home after a few beers, beat the wife, and kick the dog. I thought they were supposed to die-off already.

[Treefrog]

25. If so, he looks like a black cop.

The coach is African-American and really not old enough to to “die off” yet.

[stillcool]

36. yes...they are not dying off at all..

that was my point. Black, white whatever the mentality is the same. As in the 7 other members of the coaching staff also suspended

[lpbk2713]

8. They gave all the other students lessons in bullying.

Among other things.

Assholes.

[marble falls]

9. Jeebers. That's pretty bad. Suspended? Fired would be more like it. He'll find a good "Christian" ..

... school to pick up his contract.

[exboyfil]

10. Forcing any student to eat a pizza is totally bizarre

And in of itself seems like something that should cause the administration pause. You shouldn't ever be able to force someone to consume something they don't want for whatever reason. It is a violation of their person and autonomy.

If the coach was aware of his religious reasons for not eating it, then why wasn't he fired on the spot? What does it say about his teammates that they did not stand up for him. If some moron tried to make my Jewish debate partner eat a pepperoni pizza, you sure would believe I would stand right beside him resisting that request.

It is a double kosher violation. Jews aren't supposed to consume dairy with meat as well (or at least that is what my debate partner explained to me).

[PoliticAverse]

11. Yeah that really should be a firing. And yes, kosher pizza can't have meat and cheese on it.

[ShazzieB]

21. That's true!

Even if it was beef, consuming meat and dairy together is not kosher. What a pos that coach is.

[MurrayDelph]

18. All that was missing

is if they had put crabmeat on it and make him eat it during Passover.

[StarfishSaver]

39. A Jewish friend calls that a "Trifecta.of Treif" ...

[MurrayDelph]

45. When I owned a restaurant

We titled the Bacon Cheeseburger a Triple Whammy:

during Passover it was 3.5* sins in one meal.






*(The .5 was because I liked my bacon cheeseburgers with mayonnaise, which is not officially a sin, but my friends think it should be).

[StarfishSaver]

46. Ha ha!

[LiberalFighter]

12. He should be fired and blackballed from sports.

[LiberalFighter]

13. I get tired of football coaches doing extreme pep talks on local tv sports.

This is happening in Indiana.

When I was back in Wisconsin it didn't happen. That crap wasn't broadcast and our coaches didn't do that type of pep talk with the players.

[malaise]

14. He should be fired

That's all

[MLAA]

15. A high school with 7 assistant coaches?

What’s up with that?

The Whole lot should be fired not suspended. Cruel and ignorant punishment for missing a weight session. Bench the kid or some other form of punishment. Coach and assistant coaches are real assholes.

[Deuxcents]

19. We all know it's competitive

Where is the part about being attentive to diversity? It’s an educational institution. How long will it take to consider the diversity of his team? And honor it?

[Marrah_Goodman]

26. I was thinking the same thing

I am used to 3 asst coaches. Offensive, defensive and special teams.

[Mimi Susi]

22. Both sides sitting down together

I have read numerous articles about this situation as it happened about a half-hour from me. There is a lot to sort out here in this whole situation. The coach is black and almost all the players on the team are black. Racism isn't an issue.

The student told his coach he can't eat pork or cheese for religious reasons. One source says the coach allowed him to remove the pepperoni and the cheese from the pizza. He didn't think about pork residue.

Some articles suggest the practice was voluntary. We don't know one way or the other.

The coaches/school representatives are going to sit down with the parents to try to work through this situation without dragging the student in to court. He is apparently suffering from depression.

[vanlassie]

24. So eating a pizza after the offending foods have been removed constituted a punishment?

Most people would consider being required to eat a pizza a reward. I’m missing something.

[Mimi Susi]

27. Don't get it either

I don't get it either. I know it's been a punishment for a number of years, before this guy was even the coach. They probably have a stash of pepperoni pizzas in the freezer. I think the issue here is the adults, and the boy is a pawn.

[MLAA]

29. The kid is Jewish and follows a Kosher diet.

They made him eat pork violating his religion.

[vanlassie]

31. Right...

I was responding to the following:
“The student told his coach he can't eat pork or cheese for religious reasons. One source says the coach allowed him to remove the pepperoni and the cheese from the pizza. He didn't think about pork residue.”

In any case I can’t see how “you have to eat a pizza” is a punishment. Elsewhere it said they kept a supply on hand. Huh? Just for non-pork eaters??

[Mimi Susi]

42. You were responding to me.

You were responding to me. I mentioned that maybe they had pepperoni ones in a freezer in the locker room because they often use this tactic. It had been used for quite sometime with former coaches. It doesn't make sense to me either. IF it's meant as a team-building tactic, it is a really poor one.

[Effete Snob]

34. The kid is not Jewish

While he has a right to practice his religion, he is a member of an anti-semitic sect which calls Jews "impostors".

https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/extremist-sects-within-the-black-hebrew-israelite-movement

Black Hebrew Israelites are not Jews and Black Jews are not the same as Black Hebrew Israelites. Black Jews and Jews of color are genuine members of the Jewish faith. Black Hebrew Israelites identify specifically with the biblical Israelites and consider Judaism, Christianity and Islam to be false religions. Many BHI teachers claim that Jews and other white people forced Black individuals into other religions. Extreme factions believe white Jews are perpetuating identity theft.

...

The antisemitic beliefs that some express include claims that Jews have no right to Israel as a homeland, contentions that Israel will not be fruitful until returned to the Israelites, accusations that Jews purposely enslaved Black individuals to steal their identity and assertions that Jews are imposters or Satanic.

Judaism is frequently referred to as the “synagogue of Satan.” Stolen identity is a central piece of the ideology and the basis of animosity towards Jews. Among the commonly cited passages used to justify this hatred:

[MLAA]

44. My mistake, thanks for the correction 🙂

[MLAA]

28. The kid is Jewish and follows a Kosher diet.

They made him eat pork violating his religion.

[Zeitghost]

32. The kid

Is not jewish, but does refrains from eating pork as part of his religion.

[MLAA]

43. Thanks, my mistake. I associated eating Kosher with being Jewish

[Johnny2X2X]

23. This was a crime

This needs to be prosecuted.

[Solomon]

30. Wonder how he made him eat it?

[GoodRaisin]

33. Well, this is stupid.

Frankly, ridiculous. I remember the days when we were required to do extra pushups or run laps. These days it's put the kid in a closet or force him to put something in his body. The entire world has become idiotic.

[Effete Snob]

35. The kid is not Jewish

The ADL expends considerable effort trying to point out that "Black Hebrew Israelites" are an anti-semitic sect which is not Jewish.

It is unfortunate that this particular news outlet did not give a shit.

https://www.ideastream.org/news/canton-mckinley-football-player-says-punishment-violated-religious-rights

The student protested numerous times that he can’t eat pork or pork residue because of his Hebrew Israelite faith. According to Gilbert, the coach told the student to eat the entire pizza with the pepperoni pulled off. The student continued to protest he couldn’t eat pork residue.

https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/extremist-sects-within-the-black-hebrew-israelite-movement

Black Hebrew Israelites are not Jews and Black Jews are not the same as Black Hebrew Israelites. Black Jews and Jews of color are genuine members of the Jewish faith. Black Hebrew Israelites identify specifically with the biblical Israelites and consider Judaism, Christianity and Islam to be false religions. Many BHI teachers claim that Jews and other white people forced Black individuals into other religions. Extreme factions believe white Jews are perpetuating identity theft.

[grantcart]

47. Correct. Terrible reporting by Newsweek

Of course his beliefs about diet should still be respected.

[regnaD kciN]

49. Yep. It's funny how people do an about-face on the story...

…once they realize he doesn’t belong to the “right” religion.

[BGBD]

38. Such a weird punishment

If I were coaching the team and a guy was blowing off conditioning I wouldn't give him a pizza. He's spend about 20 minutes after practice the next day doing hills or bear crawls.

[csziggy]

40. Local story has more details

Canton McKinley High School football player says he was forced to eat pork against religious beliefs
Kelli Weir
Canton Repository
Jun.1, 2021

{SNIP}

Player punished for missing a voluntary practice

Gilbert, speaking on behalf of the family, said the school district violated the player's constitutional rights when the coaches punished him on May 24 after he missed a voluntary May 20 strengthening and conditioning practice to nurse a slight shoulder injury he received during a previous practice.

Gilbert said Wattley ordered the player to sit in a chair in the middle of the gym and consume an entire pepperoni pizza.

Gilbert said the player told the coach – at least 10 times – that he did not eat pork because he and his family are members of the Hebrew Israeli religious faith, which strictly forbids the consumption of pork or pork residue. Gilbert said all the coaches should have known the player didn’t eat pork because he has been present during previous player meals.

He said Wattley allowed the player to remove the pepperoni and some of the cheese from the pizza, but residue from the pork clearly remained.

More: https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/2021/06/01/mckinley-football-player-sue-canton-schools-religious-violation/5290290001/

See Post #34 for information about the Hebrew Israeli faith.

[Demovictory9]

41. ugh... so wrong.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

48. Seven high school football coaches lose jobs over allegations they made a Hebrew player eat a pizza

that had contained pork

Seven of eight Ohio high school football coaches who allegedly forced a Hebrew Israelite player to eat a pizza that previously had pork on it, despite knowing his beliefs forbade him from eating it, have been fired, according to the Canton City School District and the student's lawyer.

They had all been previously suspended. It is unclear if the eighth coach has been exonerated of wrongdoing or if will face any further disciplinary action from the district. Local police are investigating the incident.

Following the district's own investigation, the Canton City Board of Education voted unanimously during a special meeting Thursday evening to not renew the contracts of head football coach Marcus Wattley and the six other coaches, the board wrote in a community-wide letter.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/seven-high-school-football-coaches-lose-jobs-over-allegations-they-made-a-hebrew-israelite-player-eat-a-pizza-that-had-contained-pork/ar-AAKGnZJ