DISCIPLINE ISSUES: HS Football Coach Forces Player to Eat a Pepperoni Pizza in Violation of His Religous Beliefs

I’ve discussed a lot of bizarre and unexpected cases over the years, but the one that made headlines this past week is really just hard to fathom.This is one of those stories that, in this day and age of increased cultural sensitivity, it’s difficult to understand what the head football coach and his five assistants were thinking.

A couple of weeks ago, at McKinley HS in Canton OH, one of the school’s top  football players – a junior who is not named since he’s a minor – missed a voluntary weight lifting session because his shoulder was injured.

According to media reports, the head coach felt that the kid needed a little “discipline” to stay focused. Apparently, the youngster is already receiving interest from D-1 programs. In other words, the coach and his staff thought the kid was beginning to get a bit lax in his dedication.

So the coach, a fellow named Marcus Wattley, along with several of his assistant coaches, came up with what they thought was an appropriate bit of discipline. During the following week’s team practice, they had the junior come in, sit in a chair in the gym, and in front of his teammates, was instructed to eat a pepperoni pizza….or else.

Now, it was not totally detailed as to what the consequences would be if the kid refused, but it was assumed that if he didn’t eat the pizza, then his teammates would have to pay the price on his behalf in terms of extra running and more conditioning work.

The youngster protested numerous times about not being allowed to eat the pepperoni pizza because it was made of pork, and his family keeps a Kosher diet. One report says the kid then removed the pepperoni from the pizza, and ate the pie reluctantly, only because he feared reprisals from the coaching staff.

When the kid’s parents, of course, heard about this “disciplinary” move, they contacted their attorney, and are now considering filing a lawsuit regarding their son being persecuted for his religious beliefs. Meanwhile, the school board got together a few days ago, reviewed all the evidence, and immediately fired the head coach and several of his assistants.

Take a listen to the show in the link below. As you’ll hear, a lot of callers were outraged by this coach’s truly outrageous behavior.

https://omny.fm/shows/rick-wolff-the-sports-edge/the-sports-edge-with-rick-wolff-60?