A former Jewish actor is suing his coaches for four dollars, after he was forced to eat a pork-based pizza, despite his religious beliefs to the contrary. They even put social pressure on him to force him to eat the prey
A former football player is suing for $ 4 million in fines after his coaches allegedly forced him to eat a pizza covered in lard, according to a lawsuit filed last weekend.
The unnamed Jewish student claimed he was forced to eat a tripe pizza, “something contrary to his Jewish faith,” according to the lawsuit filed in Ohio, USA.
According to local media reports, the school coach invited the student in June 2021, then 17, to the gym, forcing him to eat pepperoni pizza (pork) while sitting on the floor. If the student refused, he would be expelled from the group, and the whole group would have to perform additional gymnastic exercises for his behavior. The student has since switched schools.
The student was an outstanding athlete, and was offered several scholarships to play football, even though he was young, Edward Gilbert. The family’s lawyer, told local media last June; “It just crosses a line at every possible level. It’s just wrong.” According to the plaintiff, his teammates were told that “they must not stop their exercises until I finish the pizza,” and they threatened to finish him.
After strong opposition from him, for religious reasons, he was allowed to remove the pork, but the remnants of “lard” were still on the pizza, he claimed. After eating the pizza, the coaches forced him to run and get off the football field and perform a “duck walk”, (painful walk) so the student said.
The coach for his part denies the acts attributed to him, and has filed a defamation suit against the player’s family. The coach argued in his defense that the player had the ability to leave at any time and had the option to choose an alternative food that did not contain pork. He claims the player chose to take down the pork and eat the pizza.
The school management decided following an internal investigation to remove the coach along with his assistants from their coaching positions last June.