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. The coach was trying to teach a lesson.". "McDaniels was a good possession receiver. Canton McKinley Football's "You Can Get There From Here" series. Before a playing run in the Canadian Football League, Hall spent time with the Indianapolis Colts, whose head coach was Tony Dungy. Pattakos blamed an assistant coach, whom he did not name, for inflaming the situation by reporting an exaggerated version to administrators and the players family. Theyve run plenty of sprints. "Look at how many times (Mayfield) has had the opportunity and hasn't won those games," Rose said. I love them, they know that. 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. Invite the coach 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. 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.. Fletcher played 256 NFL games, third all-time among linebackers behind Junior Seau (268) and Clay Matthews (278). He is McKinley's fifth head coach in 10 seasons. The lawsuit also names Canton City Schools as a defendant. Ziegler is the new general manager in Las Vegas; McDaniels is the Raiders' new head coach. Talbert went on to say that video would not be publicly released due to federal student privacy regulations. It has left one of Ohio's most storied prep football programs working quickly to reset for its upcoming season and the Canton City School District in limbo as it awaits word on whetherthe player's familywill file a First Amendment lawsuitand whether criminal hazing chargeswill be filed against the coaches. 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. The Canton Repository has agreed to not name the 17-year-old player, who has received interest from Division I colleges. Wattley and seven assistant coaches have been suspended by the Canton City School District after one of the players said. It was rushed. 330-438-2712 Fax: 330-580-3507 Jonas Wertin, Principal wertin_j@ccsdistrict.org McKinley Quick Links McKinley Virtual Tour The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported. According to his deposition testimony, the players father first introduced the family to the Hebrew Israelite faith in 2013. GlenOak 22. Repository sports writer Josh Weir contributed to this article. McKinley's Harold Fannin Jr. runs after a catch against GlenOak at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021. CANTON The former McKinley High School football player who is suing the Canton City School District and his former coaches over alleged civil rights violationssays the coaches likely didnt know about his religious beliefs before the day they forced him to eat a pepperoni pizza as punishment for missing a practice. 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. 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. Thom McDaniels is a retired Ohio high school football coach.. So I just went with it and went to the contest, the player testified. Wattley's attorney Peter Pattakostold The Canton Repository on Mondaythat Wattley and the assistant coaches were trying to rescue a troubled player whose off-the-field behavior was negatively influencing his teammates and jeopardizing his future as a Division I college athlete. Nobody is perfect, not even Coach Wattley is perfect and he knows that. I learned from a great man how to coach football. Note: This video has been altered to protect kids' identities. 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. newsletter. 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. The Pattakos Law Firm, which represents the former coaches, released a statement after the ruling that said, in part: From the moment these absurd and sensational accusations first went public there were numerous eyewitnesses, including the alleged victims teammates, who were jumping out of their shoes to confirm that the accusations were false. He was offered chicken (nuggets) and (told), You can sit here and eat. Editors Note: Below is a previous report by 19 News about the lawsuit. Thats the lesson that needed to get through to him.. Attorney Pattakos released the following statement on behalf of Marcus Wattley late Thursday night: "We asked the district to postpone their decision for at least one more week to allow for this matter to be fully and fairly investigated, including upon full consideration of the testimony of the numerous Canton McKinley football players who witnessed this event and were at tonight's board meeting wanting to tell anyone who would listen that the story being advanced by the alleged victim's father and attorney is not true. CANTON, Ohio With an attorney by his side, the father of a junior at McKinley Senior High School shared his anger after he told News 5 his son, who is a . "This young man is one of the most talented members of the team and he's let the team down, not showing up to practices, not communicating with his team, not fulfilling the role of a team leader," attorney Peter Pattakos told 3News. Example video title will go here for this video. 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. 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.. In an email to 3News, Canton City Schools says its administrative team received a report of an incident that took place on Monday, May 24, during McKinley footballs strength and conditioning practice. 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.. But attorney Peter Pattakos, who was retained by Wattley on Thursday, said Thursday that version of events is exaggerated and parts of it are false. Grimsley's attorney, Bartholomew T. Freeze, could not be reached Thursday. He didnt provide a reason why. Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com. "I'm very excited Josh is getting another opportunity. They needed to show him what it was like to be the only man eating in a room full of hungry, working men. "It was a situation that deserves to be investigated so we're going to investigate it," Talbert told The Repository. An attorney representing Marcus Wattley told 3News Investigates that there's more to this story that hasn't been told. The coaches had filed the lawsuit in July 2021 after they said their reputations had been damaged by the false accusation that they punished the then-17-year-old football player on May 24,. But the player testified that Wattley told him that if he walked out, he couldnt come back. "It's not going to get the coaches their jobs back. Religion historianJames Tinney classified Hebrew Israelites intothree basic groups: According to Gospel Coalition,many if not most Hebrew Israelite groupsreject the Trinity and Christ's divinity, two central tenets of traditional Christianity. Former Browns coach Paul Brown hails from nearby Massillon and, last summer, Canton erected a statue of former Browns running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer Marion Motley just down the hill from the museum. More:Canton McKinley High School football coaches to face further discipline, possible criminal charges. But of course, we don't know they acted as a group. All rights reserved. In a letter shared with 3News Investigator Rachel Polansky, Canton City Schools informed Wattley of his placement on administrative leave on Wednesday. He was so far ahead ahead of the curve.". Two days after Grimsley sent the message, the district suspended Grimsley, Wattley and six other assistant coaches while it investigated allegations of misconduct before firing Wattley, Grimsley and five other coaches on June 3. His deposition is the first time the public has heard from the player in his own words about the discipline on May 24, 2021, where coaches sat the then-17-year-old player in the middle of an auxiliary gym and ordered his teammates to circle the gym doing exercises with 45-pound weights until the player ate an entire pepperoni pizza. I just always told them whenever they bought food and stuff, I told them I dont eat pork and left it at that, he said. Bulldogs logo for the Canton City School District in Ohio. His defense is all over the place. Hall is one of the drivers behind the Marion Motley statue planned for a spot near the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Explore the benefits. At the next days workout, the player said coach Harris told him that he was going to have to apologize to the team and he agreed to do so. Updated: 1:20 p.m., Thursday, June 3, 2021. McDaniels previously served as the wide receivers . For inexplicable reasons, the board denied this basic request and refused to listen to these young men, reflecting that the district's leadership is not interested in the truth of this matter, and is instead motivated by something else. It was along those lines, and the kid knew he was being disciplined. They are more than coaches, said Powell, who lost hisfather when he was young. Assistant coach Badre ElBardawil, who also had beensuspended on May 26 with the other coaches, remains an assistant coach with McKinley because district officials said the evidence did not show that he performed in the same manner as the other coaches.. I knew about Josh then, and I followed him over the years.". He always tries to make the people around him better. 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 school board on Thursday voted to fireWattley and six of his assistant coaches after the districts completed investigation found that the coaches on May 24 acted in a demeaning and divisive manner in what school officials have called a misguided attempt to instill discipline in the student athletes.. McKinley Senior High School Grades 9-12 2323 17th St NW, Canton, OH 44708. This is not something that he made up, Pattakos said. Learning what he learned from his first time, applying all the knowledge he's gained since then, it's just the perfect equation for success.". "Black Hebrew Israelites consider themselves Jews; I also consider them to be a Black religionbearing many of the markers of African American spirituality," she said. 40-22 (W) McKinley vs. GlenOak. ", In June of last year, former McKinley head coach Marcus Wattley and six of his assistant coaches were fired by Canton City Schools following an investigation into misconduct. December 4, 2004 (at Canton Fawcett Stadium) Canton McKinley 3 7 0 0 10 (11-4) Cincinnati Colerain 6 17 20 7 50 (15-0) Coaches: Brian Cross (Canton McKinley); Kerry Coombs (Cincinnati Colerain) Attendance (unofficial): 16,885. I think Carr is really good at it. More on the McDaniels family: Canton council approves street name change to honor McDaniels football family. Powell said Wattley and all of the assistant coaches have becomefather figures to him and his teammates. Caserio is general manager of the Houston Texans. They needed to get through to him some other way. I knew it was coming sooner or later.". Former McKinley football coaches dismiss defamation lawsuit, intend to refile Kelli Weir The Repository 0:00 0:57 The former Canton McKinley football coaches who have been waiting for. The player admitted he had lied to his teammates and coaches and told them he had been grounded for smoking marijuana. And then we walk out into the auxiliary gym and theres a pizza in the chair, and I think coach I think Coach Brodie handed me the pizza and I set it down. He also had exceptional talent that few McKinley coaches have recently enjoyed. Pattakos, who said he,Wattley and McLeod saw the surveillance video for the first time Monday,saidhe isn't giving up on reinstatingWattley and McLeod as McKinley coaches. Talbert said surveillance videogave administrators the information they needed to warrant their recommendations to the board. He said he began seeing a counselor in June 2021 and has made progress. He did it a few times and I remember saying, 'The kid is calling audibles as a freshman. "I remember sitting in the stands watching a McKinley-Masillon ninth-grade game," Rose said. He again declined to provide details of what happened that day and saidthe video would not be publicly released due to federal student privacy regulations. Claim your team to manage the roster, schedule, scores, stats and more. "The type of behavior was inappropriate, demeaning, and divisive.". Key players: P/E Horace Gillom, HB Tommy James, OL Jim Russell. 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. Meanwhile,there is still pending litigation in the case the coaches filed against the player, his family, and Canton City Schools. So, they just kept it there and then when I kicked the box, they brought it back to me, so there was nothing I could do, said the player, according to a transcript of a deposition he gave on June 23. Im in disbelief that Im basically accused of harming a kid when Ive done nothing but take care of kids in this community, said McLeod, a 1996 McKinley graduate who was an all-Ohio linebacker for McKinley. Its unclear from the players testimony whether the other coaches heard the player talking about his religion. I will defer to Judge Haupt and her able staff to handle. He emphasized that the player had the ability to leave at any time and had the option of selecting an alternative food that did not contain pork. He has been Canton's AD for less than a year. We will continue to make every reasonable effort to ensure that justice is served in this case.. By The Associated Press. 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). But they should have known that he didnt eat pork, he contends. On May 24, 2021, head football coach Marcus Wattley allegedly forced an unnamed 17-year-old football team member to eat a pizza made with pork, although the student's religious beliefs prohibited him . Hall was a star offensive tackle on the Bulldogs' 1997 national championship team and later earned All-SEC honors at Kentucky before stints as an assistant coach at GlenOak, McKinley, and St. Thomas Aquinas. According to Pattakos and the students, the player had the ability to leave at any time and Wattley had offered the player chicken nuggets instead of the pizza after the player said he didnt eat pork. 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. 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." 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 . McKinley won a rematch in the playoffs two weeks later. Box Score. A native of Canton, Ohio, President McKinley was the last president to have served in the American Civil War and is assassinated in 1901. . Mike DeWine suffered injury while in East Palestine, Ohio State Fire Marshal: Oakwood factory fire was not the result of a criminal act, Improvements coming to I-480 near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Ohio football coaches allegedly force Hebrew Israelite student to eat pork for missing practice, Canton City Schools fire 7 football coaches accused of forcing a Hebrew Israelite student to eat pork, Whistleblower says he was unfairly fired following Canton McKinley High School pizza-eating incident, Former Canton-McKinley football coaches sue school district leaders, father of athlete at center of pizza scandal, Closed Captioning/Audio Description Problems. 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. I love them, they know that, Wattley said. The 17-year-old belongs to. On 10/28, the McKinley varsity football team won their home playoff game against GlenOak (Canton, OH) by a score of 40-22. The score stayed 12-3. . I miss my boys. Following a due-process hearing with the Canton City School District June 8, the attorney for Canton McKinley Senior High . He wasnt forced to eat pork. DIVISION I STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. A few thousand watched the Marietta Pioneers nurse a lead against the visiting John Carroll Blue Streaks. "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. Frank McLeod, one of the assistant coaches who was dismissed, on Tuesday said he believes the district's surveillance video clears the coaches. CANTON, Ohio (WOIO) - Former Canton McKinley football coach Marcus Wattley is still fighting to get his job back as the head coach of the Bulldogs. Feb 9. Gilbert has said the family has agreed to meet with district officials before pursuing a lawsuit. While the roughly 12-minute video doesn't have audio, McLeodsaid you can tell by the body language of the coaches and players that the player wasn't being threatened. Pattakos said Wattley previously had witnessed the eating-alone lesson work effectively in a different Division I locker room. Four young men in this program have been shot in this last calendar year alone, Pattakos said. Gilbert said the family has delayed filing its lawsuit because the district has asked to mediate the dispute out of court. A federal judge filed an order Thursday to . 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. . Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com. Pattakos asked Judge Haupt to reinstate the district leaders as defendants in the lawsuit, but she denied the request Wednesday, in part because the trial was to start Monday. The coaches had filed the lawsuit in July 2021 after they said their reputations had been damaged by the false accusation that they punished the then-17-year-old football player on May 24, 2021, by forcing him to eat a pepperoni pizza while knowing that it was against his religious beliefs. He was asked to accept this form of a lesson. A federal judge said there was insufficient evidence to support allegations that the player was forced to eat food against his religion. This is not something that he made up, Pattakos said. We feel that he overreacted.". The player said coach McLeod had been sitting in a chair beside him eating a piece of the pizza. 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. The Bulldogs went 9-3 in Wattleys first year, winning a Federal League championship. Pattakos has blamed an assistant coach, whom he believes wanted Wattleys job, for presenting an exaggerated version of the story to school officials and the player's family. Black Jews, who maintain a Christological perspective and adopt Jewish rituals. McDaniels, 45, is back in a head coaching seat for the first time since getting fired by the Denver Broncos 12 games into the 2010 season. The lawsuit filed by the Hebrew Israelite players family alleged that on May 24, 2021 the coaches forced him to eat a pepperoni pizza after he missed a voluntary practice session. Ed Gilbert, the attorney representing the player and his family, told 3News in a statement: "We feel the court made a clear error here. MEDINA, Ohio - Solon and Midview both picked up big wins in the OHSAA Division I regional semifinals at Medina High School on Tuesday night. Jack Rose, who coached against McDaniels at Massillon in the '90s, is betting on him now. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. During this. 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. . … 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. 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