eight Coaches Pressured a Excessive Faculty Soccer Participant to Violate His Religion and Eat Pork as Teammates Watched

Marcus Wattley, head coach of McKinley Senior High School, and seven Asst. Canton, Ohio coaches are on paid vacation after forcing a 17-year-old player, a Hebrew Israelite, to violate his beliefs and eat pork as a punishment for not exercising after injuring himself, the Washington Post reports.

The student, who is not named, had to sit in the middle of a gym and eat a pepperoni pizza while his teammates poked him. If he refused, not only would his position on the team be endangered, but his teammates would also be punished for his actions.

“Ed Gilbert, the family lawyer, said at a news conference Tuesday that the Canton City School District had violated the child’s First Amendment,” the Post noted when the coaches “forced the boy on May 24th despite his numerous objections to eating pork because of his belief. Gilbert said the family plans to sue the school district.

The 17-year-old was “verbally attacked by the coaches and put under pressure by his colleagues to eat the pizza despite his religious beliefs”.

The student skipped training on May 20 after injuring his shoulder the day before, but showed up for a voluntary strength and conditioning session on the 24th. At that time, his First Amendment rights were allegedly violated.

“Because he is a Hebrew Israelite, the player reportedly told the coaches at least ten times that he was forbidden to eat pork or leftover pork,” Gilbert said. The coaches allowed the athlete to remove some of the pepperoni from the pizza, but the scraps of pork were still on the slices, the lawyer said at the press conference on Tuesday.

Despite giving in to the coach’s demands, his teammates yelled at him as he ate the pizza.