Attorney Edward Gilbert sues attorney for defamation in McKinley pizza discipline dispute

The unconventional discipline of a former McKinley High School football player last year involving a pepperoni pizza has spawned its third lawsuit.

Akron attorney Edward Gilbert, who represents the player and his family, is suing attorney Peter Pattakos and the Pattakos Law Firm, alleging defamation over statements Pattakos and his firm have made over the past year in a case that drew international attention. The case has been assigned to Stark County Common Pleas Judge Natalie Haupt.

More on the McKinley pizza incident: See the video of the events that led to Canton McKinley football coaches being fired

Pattakos, an attorney since 2007, represents former McKinley head football coach Marcus Wattley and former assistant coaches Frank McLeod, Zachary Sweat, Romero Harris, Cade Brodie and Tyler Thatcher in a separate defamation suit they filed in July 2021 against Gilbert, the player, the player’s father Kenny Walker, and former assistant coach Josh Grimsley. The lawsuit also had been filed against the Canton City school board and the district’s superintendent but Judge Haupt dismissed them from the case in January. A jury trial is set for Sept. 19.

A third related lawsuit also involves the two attorneys. Gilbert, representing the player and the player’s parents, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in December against the Canton City school district, school officials and the former coaches, most of whom are being represented by Pattakos and his law firm.

What is Edward Gilbert accusing Peter Pattakos of saying?

In the most recent defamation lawsuit, which was filed in June, attorney Walter T. Madison is representing Gilbert, who has been an attorney in Akron for 42 years. He accuses Pattakos and his Fairlawn law firm of making statements that were so “inherently malicious and defamatory” that they have tarnished Gilbert’s professional reputation and have subjected him to public hatred, ridicule and contempt. He is seeking monetary compensation for damages, attorney fees and other relief.

The four-page complaint takes issue with various statements that Pattakos has made since June 2021, following a press conference Gilbert hosted with the player’s father and uncle to announce their intentions to sue the coaches and the Canton City School District for alleged violations the then-17-year-old student’s constitutional rights during a workout on May 24, 2021.

They accused the football coaches of forcing the player to eat a pepperoni pizza against his religious beliefs as punishment for missing a voluntary strengthening and conditioning practice.

Gilbert had said Wattley allowed the player to remove the pepperoni and some of the cheese from the pizza, but residue from the pork clearly remained. The player’s Hebrew Israelite religious beliefs forbid the consumption of pork or pork residue. Gilbert said the player understood that his playing status on the team was in jeopardy if he refused to eat the pizza.

Pattakos and the coaches have since denied that they forced the player to eat anything and have denied knowing about his religious belief that prevented him from eating pork. They have insisted the punishment was a lesson as the coaches were trying to rescue a troubled player whose off-the-field behavior was negatively influencing his teammates and jeopardized his future as a Division I college athlete.

In the lawsuit, Madison claims some of Pattakos’ untrue statements include: Pattakos claiming that Gilbert fabricated aspects of the player’s story, that Gilbert was “out to make a quick buck,” was not looking for the “truth or wellbeing” of his clients and was attempting to and had “exploited” his clients and that Gilbert had promoted untruths and misrepresented his clients.

Madison also said that Pattakos’ defamation lawsuit that names Gilbert in his personal capacity was a baseless complaint and an effort to harass, annoy and embarrass Gilbert. He is asking the judge to label Pattakos and his firm as frivolous litigators.

Gilbert has declined further comment.

What does Peter Pattakos say about the lawsuit?

Pattakos expects the lawsuit to be dismissed soon. He said the identified statements in the complaint are either true or constitutionally protected statements of opinion.

“We view his filing of this lawsuit as a desperate effort to interfere with the pending defamation case against him and avoid accountability for his own destructive lies against Marcus Wattley and the members of his coaching staff at McKinley,” Pattakos said.

Pattakos noted that Judge Haupt has denied Madison’s request to consolidate the new lawsuit with the coaches’ defamation case against Gilbert.

Haupt’s order states she denied merging the cases because it likely would further delay the first defamation case that was filed a year ago, would likely create jury confusion and the statements at issue and the parties involved are different in the two cases.

She also questioned why Gilbert waited until now to file the defamation lawsuit and seek consolidation of the cases, considering the statements began in June 2021.

Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @kweirREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Attorney Edward Gilbert sues attorney Peter Pattakos for defamation