Student forced by his coach to eat pork pizza demands $10 million in compensation

An Ohio high school student is seeking $10 million in damages after his soccer coach forced him to eat a pepperoni pizza as a punishment for missing off-season training.

The lawsuit, filed last week against the Canton City School District, the city's board of education and coaches, alleges that the student protested eating pizza because consuming products made with pork and offal would conflict with his religious beliefs, according to Business Insider.

According to the lawsuit, the student converted to Judaism.

According to the agency "Sputnik"

The student, who declined to be named in the lawsuit, is referred to only as "Junior" and is described as a high school student who is expected to graduate in June.

The lawsuit stated that the coach requested last May that all students attend mandatory off-season training, but "Junior" missed him as a result of a slight shoulder injury while lifting weights.

When Junior attended the next mandatory off-season workout, his coach told him that he would "be polite for not attending the weight-loss program" and had him sit on a single chair in the middle of the gymnasium floor, and then forced him to eat a large pepperoni pizza with whole ham.

Despite the objection of "Junior" to the punishment, and reminding his coach that he does not eat pork because of his religious beliefs, he insisted on submitting to punishment, to kick the pizza box away from him, in a video clip documenting this.

Junior refused to be punished "at least 10 times", the lawsuit said, and then the coach said he could remove the pepperoni from the pizza, but the lawsuit stressed that even without the pepperoni, the leftover ham was still covered in the pizza.

 The coach gave Junior an ultimatum, and he either eats pizza or is likely to be kicked off the football team, and meanwhile the other players were running around the gym, and they couldn't stop until Junior finished eating the pizza.

Not only did the coach make Junior eat pizza contrary to his religious beliefs, but also forced him to stock up and down the football field, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit stated that the coach was dismissed, and the student "Junior" insists in his lawsuit to obtain compensation of 10 million dollars, after "he became the subject of threats and ridicule from his teammates and the general public."

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