Longtime Red Wings Zamboni driver fired after urinating into drain, sues over discrimination

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

A longtime Zamboni driver for the Detroit Red Wings was fired back in February after he was seen by another employee urinating in a drain at Little Caesars Arena, a lawsuit revealed this week. 

Al Sobotka, who first began working at Olympia Stadium in 1971 as a member of the cleanup crew, has filed a lawsuit against Olympia Entertainment claiming he was discriminated against because of his age and disability in his Feb. 17 termination, the Detroit Free Press reported. The lawsuit was filed in Wayne County Circuit Court. 

HUE JACKSON’S CLAIMS BROWNS INCENTIVIZED HIM TO LOSE SPARK INQUIRY 

Zamboni driver Al Sobotka resurfaces the ice prior to an NHL game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers at Little Caesars Arena on November 9, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan.  (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

According to the lawsuit, the 68-year-old Zamboni driver was diagnosed with benign prostatic hypertrophy which causes him to frequently urinate. After cleaning the rink at Little Caesars Arena on Feb. 2, Sobotka’s health condition caused him to use a drain for ice runoff because the nearest facility was too far. 

He was spotted by a male employee and was initially suspended before being terminated more than two weeks later. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

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

Al Sobotka Zamboni driver and building operations manager for Olympia Entertainment works on the #7 logo he embedded in the ice in honor of the late Detroit Red Wing and Hall of Fame great Ted Lindsay at Little Caesars Arena on March 7, 2019 in