I will defer to Judge Haupt and her able staff to handle. We wont stop fighting until we get them back., More about McKinley's new head coach: Interim McKinley Bulldogs football coach Antonio Hall will look to 'put our kids first'. Ed Gilbert, the attorney representing the player and his family, told 3News in a statement: "We feel the court made a clear error here. Example video title will go here for this video. On 10/28, the McKinley varsity football team won their home playoff game against GlenOak (Canton, OH) by a score of 40-22. 2022 Canton McKinley Football (6-6) Coach: Antonio Hall. He was one of several football players who attended the disciplinary hearing Monday to show their support for Wattley and McLeod. And then … they start telling everyone to get around the gym with the 45-pound plates, and then they start saying if I dont eat it, then the team will have to keep doing the punishment until its all gone. More about Hebrew Israelites: Canton family's faith at the center of McKinley High football coach abuse allegations, I miss my boys. After the hearings, Canton City Schools spokeswoman Lisa Reicosky said Superintendent Jeff Talbertis expectedto make a recommendation to the Canton City school board regarding their employment outside of their coaching positions. CANTON - The former McKinley High School football player who is suing the Canton City School District and his former coaches over alleged civil rights violations says the coaches likely. Thats the lesson that needed to get through to him.. He was doing his best to teach an extraordinary athlete an important lesson., After the boards vote, Pattakos yelled to the superintendent and the board, This was a bad decision. The player, whom the Repository has agreed to not identify,has been devastated by the situation and continues to undergo psychological counseling, the attorney said. 3 Nordonia (17-5), 7 p.m. Saturday . He said he would have eaten the chicken nuggets. This wasnt about that (a single missed workout). In the trial that was to start Monday, Stark County Common Pleas Judge Natalie Haupt had dismissed Canton City Schools Superintendent Jeff Talbert and board members John J.R. Rinaldi, Scott Russ, Kim Brown, David Kaminski and Eric Resnick from the case. The deposition, where the player testified under oath, was conducted as part of the defamation lawsuit that the coaches filed a year ago against the player, the players father, Kenny Walker, their attorney Edward Gilbert and former assistant coach Josh Grimsley. 2 Canton McKinley football players speak out about teammate's punishment: Why they say it was unfair for 7 coaches to lose their jobs The coach was expected to speak with 19 News at . Wattleyallowed the player to pick off the pepperoni butpork residue remained, the attorney said. 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. McKinley Senior High School Grades 9-12 2323 17th St NW, Canton, OH 44708. "While on administrative leave, you are not to be on school property or to have any form of communication or contact with any Canton City School District student(s), parents, or staff member without expressed permission from this office," Canton City Schools Human Resource Director Deidre K. Stokes Davis wrote to Wattley. Claim this team Ways you can help Make an impact on this team, and help keep MaxPreps up-to-date. 2023 www.cantonrep.com. 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. The teammates affidavits also said that Wattley told the player he could leave if he didnt want to participate. The trial was set to begin Monday in Stark County Common Pleas Court. The weekly sessions are now monthly check-ins. 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. McKinley went 14-6 in Wattley's two seasons as head coach, with a couple of second-round playoff losses and an 0-2 record against rival Massillon. Talbert said it was the surveillance video that gave him the information he needed to make his recommendation to fire Wattley and his assistants. I love them, they know that, Wattley said. Black Hebrews, who are more traditional in their practice of Judaism. Judge John Adams found there was not enough evidence to support allegations made by legal representation of the student-athlete. But it wasnt until roughly five years later when the player, then in eighth grade, started to strictly follow the faiths dietary restrictions. Gilbert, who did not attend the school board meeting, said the player has been devastated by the situation and continues to undergo psychological counseling. He blamed the district for conducting a rushed and incomplete investigation, noting that Wattley was interviewed for only 18 minutes and that only three of the 40 players present wereinterviewed. 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. Dude I don't coach at McKinley nor have I ever but I think you feel like you was entitled t to his job smh he was qualified to be the head coach . Traffic alert: Crash closes 224 West at Kenmore Leg in Summit County, Fan Expo Cleveland to feature 'The Office' cast, Christina Ricci and more as celebrity guests this March, FORECAST | Another surge in temps with highs topping 60 degrees, 3 skyscraper-sized asteroids making approach to Earth this week, an investigation into misconduct against a player, Bigger than basketball: How a small team, facing huge odds, became champions, Keith Wakefield retires after 30 seasons as Perry Panthers football coach, OHSAA to expand football playoffs to 16 teams, Romero Harris - Weight room coach and baseball assistant. On a sunny September Saturday in 1997, secrets of the future whispered like ripples as Josh McDaniels played a college football game on the Ohio River. . Add the football angle of Massillon-Hoban and this is a can't miss. My job is in the courtroom, not the press room.. A. Mentor (9-4) [I:1] L. 21-34. 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. Before the pizza incident happened, I respected them and had love for them for what theyve done for me throughout the years, he said, citing the times they would drive him to practice and appointments and helped him get his knee surgery. 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. … Physically harming is a lot different. McKinley football player Mani Powell said he wants his coaches back. He's only saidthe districts completed internal investigation has found that the coaches "engaged in actions that constituted inappropriate, demeaning and divisive behavior in a misguided attempt to instill discipline in the student-athletes.". The score stayed 12-3. Here's what we know nowabout the May 24incident along with what's next for the fired coaches and the Canton McKinley football team: Attorney Ed Gilbert, who is representing the player and his family,believesthe school district violated the player's constitutional rights when the coaches punished the playerformissing a May 20voluntarystrengthening and conditioning practice to nurse a slight shoulder injury he received during a priorpractice. Talbert said counselors will be available for the football players Friday. And he believes they should have stopped the punishment when he said that day that it violated his religion. School board president John "J.R." Rinaldi said Hall will continue to serve as the district's athletic director and will work with the district's administrative team to build his football staff. 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. He has been on staff, mostly as offensive coordinator, for all nine of Bill Belichick's New England Super Bowls. Allegations that the court says "lumped all the former coaches together without distinguishing the allegations against each individual. Canton McKinley Bulldogs 2022 high school football preview, online post that accompanies the transcripts, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. "I don't think they gave him enough time in Denver. The coach was trying to teach a lesson.". It was rushed. Seven high school football coaches have been fired from McKinley Senior High School in Canton, Ohio on Thursday following an incident in which a Jewish student-athlete was forced to eat a . I learned from a great man how to coach football. "It was a situation that deserves to be investigated so we're going to investigate it," Talbert told The Repository. A federal judge said there was insufficient evidence to support allegations that the player was forced to eat food against his religion. Example video title will go here for this video, New procedures, clinical trials offer hope for pancreatic cancer patients | Health Yeah. The Bulldogs went 9-3 in Wattleys first year, winning a Federal League championship. Grimsleys message advised Humphrey that he had concerns with how the student was treated. "The type of behavior was inappropriate, demeaning, and divisive.". This was an extraordinary situation we all can learn from, Pattakos said. … I still have visuals of them yelling at me and stuff to eat it, and I felt like my religion didnt matter to them, and they threw it out the window, and I told them I didnt eat it and they made me feel some type of way.. Four young men in this program have been shot in this last calendar year alone, Pattakos said. They needed to get through to him some other way. Following the hearings, the superintendent is expected to make a recommendation to the Canton City school board regarding their employment outside of their coaching positions, according to Canton City Schools spokeswoman Lisa Reicosky. Before a playing run in the Canadian Football League, Hall spent time with the Indianapolis Colts, whose head coach was Tony Dungy. Canton McKinley football coach's attorney disputes claims by player. Superintendent Jeff Talbert said it was surveillance video that gave him the information he needed to make his recommendation. CANTON, Ohio (WOIO) - The whistleblower who alerted school officials about the alleged actions of Canton McKinley High School coaches said he was unfairly . The player, who is now 18 years old,said he never brought up his religion to his McKinley coaches or his teammates. 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