Longtime Red Wings employee Al Sobotka sues the team for wrongful termination after he was fired for urinating in a drain

Last week it was announced that longtime Detroit Red Wings employee Al Sobotka, the team's Zamboni operator and the man who is famous for twirling an octopus over his head whenever fans toss one on the ice, was unceremoniously fired after 51 years with the team. At the time there was no cause for termination given by the team or by Sobotka, but now it's being reported that Sobotka was fired for urinating in a drain inside of Little Caesar's Arena.

Now Sobotka is filing a discrimination lawsuit against his former employer stating that he has a health condition that caused him to urinate in the Zamboni drain.

From ESPN:

His lawyer said he has a prostate condition that causes him to frequently urinate.

Sobotka, 68, couldn't get to a restroom so he urinated in a drain that carries ice runoff from the Zamboni machines at Little Caesars Arena. Someone saw him and apparently reported it in February.

"He thought no one was in the building," attorney Deborah Gordon said. "He was given no warning, no second chance."

Gordon said management was aware of Sobotka's prostate problem.

"I was shocked," Sobotka told WDIV-TV, referring to his dismissal. "I didn't know what to say. Heartbroken, yes."

C'mon... really? You're gonna fire an old man after half a century of work because he took a leak in the Zamboni drain? How low can you be? Has the entire world gone insane? This entire scenario was handled so poorly. A situation that should have been a private matter between an employee and his employer is now a public scandal. If Sobotka urinating in a drain is truly a problem, and I don't think it is to be clear, then maybe address it with him personally and ensure that it doesn't happen again? What a concept... talking to people and treating them like actual human beings. Go figure, eh?

As it is Sobotka will either have to grovel for his job back or he'll be forced to take his beloved Red Wings to court in order to get any form of justice. And for what? What a shame.