Red Wings Zamboni driver says he was fired for peeing in ice drain

The quick replacement of a man unfairly relieved him of his duties as a Zamboni driver for the Detroit Red Wings, he claims. After 51 years of cleaning the ice for Motor City’s professional hockey franchise, Al Sobotka filed a discrimination lawsuit in Michigan’s Wayne County Circuit Court this week once againnst Olympia entertainmentof which the Red Wings is a subsidiary.

Sobotka claims his dismissal two months ago was due to incontinence rather than incompetence. The lawsuit states that Sobotka has a medical condition that causes him to pee frequently. The 68-year-old couldn’t get to a toilet fast enough during the February flood, so he urinated into a drain carrying ice runoff from the Zambonis at Little Caesars Arena.

Thinking he was alone in the building, the bell rang. It turned out that Sobotka was not the only one still working at that time. Someone saw his impromptu toilet stop and reported it. Someone must have told Sobotka that you have a problem with your urine. Sobotka’s lawyer claimed he was fired without warning after a week-long suspension over the incident. Production of the former Zamboni Driver angry because he has to pee all the time.

“He provided services to the Detroit Red Wings, including but not limited to handling day-to-day operations related to the ice and arena, including maintaining the practice ice, driving and servicing the Zamboni, and tending the locker rooms,” reads it in the lawsuit, according to WDIV in Detroit.

Olympia Entertainment has not commented on the situation, to say that it is a legal matter. In addition to his pre-game and intermission excursions aboard the Zamboni on the ice, Sobotka became a cult figure in the Red Wings fan base for removing octopuses that were thrown onto the ice and waving around the creature to the delight of those in attendance . Sobotka’s attorney claims Olympia Entertainment was aware of his urinary problems.

The lawsuit also states, “To get to a restroom,[Sobotka]would have had to exit the garage and walk 60 to 70 feet to a public restroom.” Instead, he stood behind two Zambonis, seeing no one around, and urinated into the pit that contained water to be drained.”