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Ohio high-school student accused his coaches of forcing him to eat a pizza with pepperoni grease. - The student, a Hebrew Israelite, said consuming pork products went against his religious beliefs.
An Ohio high-school student is suing his former football coaches, who he says forced him to eat pizza with pepperoni grease on it.
A lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Ohio last week against the Canton City School District, the city's board of education, and the coaches said the student protested because eating pork products and residue went against his religious beliefs. The lawsuit said the student converted to Hebrew Israelism when he was 10.
The lawsuit referred to the student only as "Junior" in the lawsuit and said he was a senior expected to graduate in June 2022.
On May 20, the coaches required players to attend a mandatory off-season workout. But Junior missed it "as a result of a slight shoulder injury sustained while lifting weights," the lawsuit said.
At the next mandatory off-season workout, the coaches told Junior he'd "be disciplined for missing the weight program," the lawsuit said.
The coaches sat him down in a "lone chair that was placed in the middle of the gymnasium floor," the lawsuit said. They then "gave Junior a large pork pepperoni pizza and ordered Junior to eat the entire pizza as punishment for failing to appear on May 20," it said. It added that Junior "objected and reminded" the coaches "that he does not eat pork, due to his religious beliefs."
He also kicked the pizza box away from him; the lawsuit said it was captured on camera.
The coaches brought it back, insisting that he eat it, the lawsuit said. Junior refused to do so a "minimum of ten times," and the coaches said he could take off the pepperoni, it said. But the residue still coated the pizza, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said the coaches gave him an ultimatum: eat the pizza or potentially be booted off the football team. Meanwhile, the other players were running around the gym, unable to stop until Junior finished the pizza, it said.
"Junior, against his religious beliefs, was forced to eat the pork grease pizza," the lawsuit said, adding that "immediately after, Junior was punished further" by the coaches, "forced to run up and down the football field."
The lawsuit said that forcing football players to eat as punishment was a routine occurrence. It described the coaches as saying "they had previously and routinely punished their football players by requiring them to eat miscellaneous products for breaking rules and regulations of the football team."
Junior had made it known during team luncheons and dinners that he couldn't eat pork and would require alternative food options, the lawsuit said. It also said he'd filled out several forms listing his dietary restrictions.
The coaches were fired in June, according to the lawsuit.
The student is seeking $10 million in damages. The lawsuit said that he "became the subject of threats and ridicule from his teammates and the general public" and "was forced to enroll in a different school and football program" because of safety concerns.
The Canton City School District did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.