'Did not live up to expectations': No word on discipline from Massillon-McKinley football melee

Three days after a melee broke out following the annual Massillon-Canton McKinley rivalry game, it remains unclear if any players or coaches will face discipline from the Ohio High School Athletic Association or their schools.

Massillon City Schools Superintendent Paul Salvino and Canton City Schools Superintendent Jeff Talbert in a joint statement released Tuesday said that any and all violations of their athletic codes of conduct would be handled in accordance with their established procedures, but declined to comment on what type of discipline students are facing.

"Canton City Schools and Massillon City Schools are dedicated to fostering academic and athletic excellence, as well as instilling the principles of good sportsmanship in all our student athletes," the joint statement read. "Ultimately, the incident that occurred during the postgame handshake at the conclusion of the 134th game on Saturday did not live up to our expectations."

As teams were shaking hands on the field at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton after Massillon routed McKinley 35-0, things went sideways as fights broke out among players. It is unclear what started the melee, but several videos taken by local media and fans show chaos as players face off and coaches separate the players, pushing them away from each other, ordering them to go to the locker room.

Canton-Massillon joint statement by Rick Armon on Scribd

The bad blood spilled over into the parking lot, with some fights breaking out among fans. Three minor misdemeanor citations were issued and one arrest was made for disorderly conduct, failure to disperse and other charges, Canton police said.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association will not be issuing any discipline for the incident.

"It happened after the game so we are having the schools handle the discipline and get back to us on the outcome," OHSAA Director of Media Relations Tim Stried said in an email Tuesday evening.

McKinley head coach Antonio Hall spoke with the Repository on Monday night and made it clear, "We don't stand for this."

"This is the first time anything like this has ever happened with us," he said. "So I want to make it a point that this doesn't happen again."

Hall, who was extremely down after the game about the melee, said he took the incident personally.

"That was probably one of the most disappointing things I've experienced because ultimately this is supposed to teach you how to do things and how to go about things the right way," he said. "We all know things are not going to go our way in life, but it's how you respond to them that ultimately makes you who you are. The way we responded, although it wasn't entirely our fault, we still had our opportunities to not respond that way. It's a black eye and a blemish on the program. It was under my watch, so I take that very personal."

Both teams will begin the postseason Friday night. It is not clear if any players will be missing when the teams take the field.

The No. 1 seeded 10-0 Tigers host No. 16 Central Crossing (4-6) in a Division II matchup.

Meanwhile, No. 4 McKinley (7-3) hosts No. 13 Strongsville (3-7) in a Division I game.

Talbert and Salvino praised the athletes and staff who took immediate action to diffuse the situation on the field and "uphold the cultural expectations of our schools."

"Their swift actions reflect the strong character and commitment to sportsmanship that we strive to instill in our schools," they said.

As they move forward, both districts will continue to work with student-athletes to prevent similar incidents, they said.

"We believe in the power of education and guidance to shape our students into responsible individuals who embody the value of fair play, respect and compassion," the joint statement said.

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.

Repository sports writer Josh Weir contributed to this story

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Will Massillon, McKinley players face discipline after postgame melee?