Red Wings Zamboni Driver Sues After Getting Fired For Peeing In Drain
From the Detroit Free Press:
A lawsuit has laid bare the reason Al Sobotka no longer drives a Zamboni for the Detroit Red Wings: He got caught peeing into a drain and was seen by another employee.
Sobotka's lawyers state in the case filed in Wayne County Circuit Court that Sobotka's rights were violated under Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, arguing that Sobotka was discriminated against on the basis of his age (68) and disability.
According to the lawsuit, Sobotka has been diagnosed with benign prostatic hypertrophy, which causes a frequent and uncontrollable need to urinate.
I believe 'benign prostatic hypertrophy' is best described by the late Jerry Stiller.
And yes, apparently it can lead to a lot of bad memories, like getting fired from your job of 51 years. Here's exactly how it went down:
On Feb. 2, Sobotka drove one of the Zamboni machines into its garage at Little Caesars Arena after cleaning the ice at the main rink. Sobotka, according to the lawsuit, experienced at uncontrollable urge to urinate. The nearest facility was 60-70 feet away, so instead, Sobotka used one of the drains that lead into a sewer, designed to handle the ice runoff from Zamboni machines.
The area is closed to the public, and access limited to the all-male ice crew.
Sobotka was urinating between two Zambonis when he was seen by a male employee.
Two days later, Sobotka was called into a meeting with his supervisor and a human resources representative. Initially suspended for a week, Sobotka was terminated Feb. 17.
That's it?! He peed into a drain hidden between 2 enormous Zambonis and they fired him?!?! This is the man who dealt with all 54 octopus that got thrown on the ice during the '95 Stanley Cup finals. That's about 120,960 suction cups, my friends.
This seems like a travesty! #FreeAlSobotka #UnlessTheresMoreToIt
I mean… What the Hell? Who among us hasn't taken a pee somewhere a little unorthodox when we've really needed to & bathrooms are far off? I've peed on a major bridge, into a solo cup on a crowded party bus on the way to the NYC subway series, in my seat past my jean shorts at a Kenny Chesney concert, between cars at the Indy500 infield (* not race cars), on the side of several stoops in South Philadelphia… I could go on & on. And again, that's mostly just because I'm a piece of shit & not because my prostate has issues.
Not to mention if you do try to hold it & fail - It's embarrassing to pee your pants. For guys, you get those little dots on the front of your khakis and then to cover it up you have to start wearing calico cut pants and the whole thing just escalates.
Interested to hear the Red Wings side of the story. In the meantime - Al, if you read this you're welcome to Barstool HQ any time. We've got sinks, drains, plant pots, all sorts of stuff you can pee in, no harm, no foul.