A high school football coach and seven assistant coaches at Canton McKinley High School in Ohio were placed on administrative leave after a Jewish student said that he was forced to eat pork as a “punishment” for missing a weight training session, Ohio news outlets reported.
Four days after the 17-year-old student missed practice, Coach Wattley Marcus and the assistant coaches forced him to sit on the floor in the middle of the gym and eat an entire pizza with pepperoni, specifically chosen because it’s made out of pork, in front of the whole team. Everyone in the room was aware that the student keeps kosher and refrains from eating pork products.
The coaches told him that if he doesn’t eat the pizza, they would force the entire team to run extra drills and maybe kick him off the team.
Attorney Edward Gilbert, who is representing the student, said that he is considering filing a first-amendment lawsuit against the Canton City School District. “This is a first amendment issue,” he said. “The coach had a pork pizza as a penalty for this child not showing up for practice,” he said, according to News-5 TV Cleveland. “What’s interesting is everyone on the team knows this child will not eat pork.”
The student, who is a top athlete and has received several offers of full scholarships to play college football may not return to the high school or its top-ranking football team. He is also receiving counseling in wake of the incident.
A statement issued by the Canton City School District said that the incident is under investigation. “The incident calls into question whether appropriate team management, discipline, and player accountability infrastructures are in place,” the statement said. “The Canton City School District holds all staff to the highest professional and ethical standards. Anything short of these standards is unacceptable.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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20 Responses
He should never have eaten treif. Nobody was pointing a gun to his head. He should have rather gone off the team and give it all up then it treif. Your religion comes first. Sorry. You could always fight back after you quit. But to eat treif is unacceptable
high school football coach and seven assistant coaches actually need to be placed inside a pig cage full of pigs, for life without parole, rather than just being placed on administrative leave:- That is is too kind for these 8 despicable savages.
He is a Hebrew Israelite. Most likely not Jewish. His “religion” does not let him eat pork, but not Jewish nonetheless. This should not be happening in America either way.
Evil people. Very un-American, too.
What kind of freak compels someone into violating their religious beliefs?
This post is misleading and untrue. Teen is NOT a member of the Jewish faith, rather the “Hebrew Israelite Faith”. Please remove this post ASAP and get your facts straight tx
I did a teeny bit of googling and the boy is not Jewish, he’s a black Hebrew Israelite. He took off the pepperoni before he ate the pizza.
The student is not Jewish he is a Hebrew Israelite.
Check story in local Canton Ohio paper
Not necessarily Jewish. Student is a “black Hebrew Israelite” according to other sources. Which doesn’t make the hazing permissible. But there are Jews and non-Jews who claim to keep “kosher” without actually keeping the Halachos of kashrus.
Just say he was Muslim (they also won’t eat pork) and the media will take care of the perpetrators.
But I thought only democrats are allowed to be anti semites
It is unclear if the student was Jewish or Black Hebrew Israelite. There is not a difference legally but is one under Halacha. Either way the action by the coach was outrageous.
What’s the difference between eating pork and non-kosher meat?
It’s not clear, did he end up eating in front of the group?
According to most media sources the student was “Hebrew Israelite”, and NOT Jewish. The incident was apparently caught on school security camera videotape so difficult to understand why there is a question of what actually transpired (the coach’s attorney says there was no coercion to eat pork). On a side note there is apparently a small Orthodox shul in Canton (Agudas Achim).
Where were the rest of the students? No one stood up for him? IF they were there and they didn’t then shame on them as well
Though obviously shocking and inappropriate, not sure this boy is Jewish. He is described in other reports as a ” Hebrew Israelite”.
Would windsprints be a constitutional form of the death penalty? If so, this coach should get it. And I am generally opposed to the death penalty.
To explain a bit, the student is A Black Hebrew!
The coach should be treated to eat the tail of an opossum.
This is not a disciplinary issue, it’s a hate crime. They should sit in jail.