Did Canton McKinley High football player punishment violate OSHAA rules?
McKinley football coaching probe:What we know about Canton McKinley firing football coach Marcus Wattley and six assistants  The players family has accused ex-McKinley head football coach Marcus Wattley and his assistant coaches of coercing the 17-year-old to eat an entire pepperoni pizza against his Hebrew Israelite beliefs on May 24 as punishment for missing a May 20 voluntary strengthening and conditioning workout. They said the player missed the workout due to a slight shoulder injury. The coaches, who lost their coaching jobs on June 3, have denied forcing the player to eat or do anything and have said it was the players choice to pick off the pepperoni and eat the pizza rather than choose an alternative food. Canton McKinley:Attorney of fired Canton McKinley assistant coach calls discipline 'excessively harsh'  Watch:See the video of the events that led to Canton McKinley football coaches being fired  Attorney Peter Pattakos, who is representing Wattley and a few of the assistant coaches, also refutes the accusation that the player was being disciplined for failing to attend a single voluntary workout. He said the coaches were trying to teach the player a lesson due to his off-the-field behavior as well as his continued disrespect toward his coaches and teammates when he did attend the voluntary sessions. He said the player's ongoing behavior was negatively influencing the team and jeopardizing his future as a Division I college athlete. Its much bigger than missing a voluntary workout, Pattakos said. Pattakos has said the coaches used the unconventional eating-alone lesson because traditional coaching methods, such as ordering the player to run additional sprints, had failed. OHSAA: Conditioning workouts must be voluntary  Pattakos said McKinley's coaches repeatedly told the players they could leave any offseason workout, but he said a "culture of accountability" also existed among players. "The players, however, understood that if they wanted to compete for state championships, they needed to make the most of the opportunities presented by the offseason workouts," Pattakos said. "Thus, the expectation among the team was that all of its members would participate in those workouts unless they had a good reason not to." Six McKinley football players, who support their coaches, have told The Canton Repository that they understood the workouts to be mandatory. Requiring athletes to show up for off-season workouts violates the rules for schools that are members of the Ohio High School Athletic Association, which includes McKinley and 816 other high schools and 873 middle schools. OHSAAs general sports regulations state that students from school teams shall not be required to attend conditioning, weight training or physical fitness programs, which are workouts that do not include specific sports skills training or instruction. The regulations also state that a coach, paid or unpaid, violates the regulation when he or she suggests or implies that a students chance to be selected for an interscholastic school team is contingent upon his or her participation. OHSAA spokesman Tim Stried said the statewide association sees roughly a dozen incidents throughout a school year when there is some kind of violation allegation of the offseason regulations. When the association becomes aware of a potential violation, Stried said, officials will contact the schools administrators to ask them to look into the situation first and report what they find to the association. We would look at what the school has found and what the school has done (whether it issued any discipline), Stried said. Then, we would determine if there are any other steps needed.  The association could impose additional disciplinary measures, such as fines or suspensions on the individual coaches or on the district itself. Stried said violating voluntary workout rules typically does not lead to a postseason ban or game forfeiture. Stried said the association is aware of the allegations against the McKinley coaches, but OHSAA is not currently involved in the situation.  The fact that the coaching staff has been let go most likely means that the OHSAA wont get involved unless school administrators request that, he said. Canton City Schools Superintendent Jeff Talbert said the district will not request OHSAA to investigate because it plans to do its own review of all of its athletic programs. He expects to announce next week who will lead the evaluation and the process that will be used. Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @kweirREP