Ex-Red Wings Zamboni driver fired for urinating in drain, says team had scheme to terminate him: report

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Al Sobotka was the Detroit Red Wings' Zamboni driver for 50 seasons, but it all ended almost two years ago.

Sobotka, now 70, was caught urinating in a drain at Little Caesars Arena during a game in 2022.

Two weeks later, the Red Wings fired him.

Sobotka says he suffers from benign prostatic hyperplasia, a condition that makes it difficult to control urination.

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Building Operations Manager and Zamboni driver Al Sobotka twirls an octopus thrown on the ice during a stoppage in play at the final home game at Joe Louis Arena April 9, 2017, in Detroit. (Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

Details about his lawsuit against the team have been reported by the Detroit Free Press, and Sobotka is accusing the team of a cover-up in his firing.

Sobotka says Olympia Entertainment, a company owned by Ilitch Holdings, which runs the team, fired him because of his age but used the urinating incident as an excuse to let him go.

He also says the company had an executive who didn't know anything about him fire him.

Olympia Entertainment maintains Sobotka was let go for "egregious misconduct."

Sobotka filed his lawsuit against the team in April 2022, claiming he was discriminated against because of his age and disability.

Zamboni driver Al Sobotka resurfaces the ice prior to a game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers at Little Caesars Arena Nov. 9, 2021, in Detroit.  (Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

One of Sobotka’s attorneys claimed that management was aware of his medical condition and that Sobotka believed no one was in the building at the time. 

Sobotka texted Chris Ilitch, the