- An Ohio high school student is suing his coaches for allegedly forcing him to eat pizza with pepperoni.
- The student, who is Jewish, said consuming pork products goes against his religious beliefs.
- The coaches allegedly forced him to consume an entire pizza with pepperoni residue as a punishment for missing a workout.
An Ohio high school student is suing his former football coaches for allegedly forcing him to eat pizza with pepperoni on it, according to a lawsuit filed in the Ohio Northern District Court.
The lawsuit, filed last week against the Canton City School District, the city's board of education, and the coaches, alleges that the student protested against eating the pizza because consumption of pork-based product and residue goes against his religious beliefs. According to the lawsuit, the student converted to Judaism when he was 10.
The student filing the lawsuit is unnamed, referred to only as "Junior" and described as a high school senior expected to graduate in June 2022.
The coaches in May required a mandatory off-season workout for all players to attend. But Junior missed the workout "as a result of a slight shoulder injury sustained while lifting weights," the lawsuit says.
At the next mandatory off-season workout, Junior showed up and was approached by his coaches, who told him he'd "be disciplined for missing the weight program," according to the complaint.
The coaches sat him down in a "lone chair that was placed in the middle of the gymnasium floor," the lawsuit says. 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 20th, 2021. 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, which the complaint says was captured on video camera.
The coaches went after the pizza box and brought it back, again insisting that he eat it. Junior refused to do so a "minimum of ten times," and the coaches then said he could take off the pepperoni. But even without the pepperoni, the pork residue still coated the pizza, the lawsuit says.
Then the coaches gave him an ultimatum: eat the pizza or potentially be booted off the football team, according to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the other players were running around the gym, unable to stop until Junior finished the pizza.
"Junior, against his religious beliefs, was forced to eat the pork grease pizza. Immediately after, Junior was punished further by [the coaches] and was forced to run up and down the football field," the lawsuit says.
Forcing football players to eat food as punishment is a routine occurrence, the lawsuit claims. The coaches themselves said "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," according to the complaint.
Prior to the alleged incident, Junior made it known during team luncheons and dinners that he would be unable to eat pork at the events and required alternative food options, the lawsuit says. He also says he filled out several forms listing his dietary restrictions.
The coaches were fired in June, according to the lawsuit.
The student seeks $10 million in damages, claiming 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" due to safety concerns.
The Canton City School District did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.