There are no second chances in hockey, at least if you’re Al Sobotka.
Sobotka, the longtime Detroit Red Wings Zamboni driver who was fired for peeing in a drain and subsequently filed an age and disability lawsuit, alleges that the higher-ups at Red Wings parent company Olympia Entertainment engaged in a cover-up scheme by having an executive who knew nothing about him fire him, per the Detroit Free Press.
Weeks before the peeing incident, Sobotka, 70, said vice president Tim Padgett approached him in a Zoom meeting and said: “You’re getting old.”
Though Olympia claimed Padgett had nothing to do with the firing, the vice president said in his deposition he advised president Keith Bradford, who made the decision to fire Sobotka, on Sobotka’s case.
Bradford had never met Sobotka, didn’t know how long he spent with the Red Wings and never discussed the urinating incident with him or the witness that saw him, according to a Nov. 15 court filing.
Zamboni driver Al Sobotka resurfaces the ice prior to an NHL game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena on March 27, 2018. NHLI via Getty Images
Building operations manager and Zamboni driver Al Sobotka walks up the red carpet before the final home game ever played at Joe Louis Arena on April 9, 2017. NHLI via Getty ImagesThe senior vice president of human resources also said that Sobotka’s prostate issue “was not taken into consideration at any time” and she saw it as an “excuse.”
Sobotka even sent president and CEO of the Red Wings Christopher Illitch one last desperate message that fell on deaf ears.
“Chris, I’m sure you heard that I was terminated,” Sobotka wrote, “I don’t think I deserve it. After 50 seasons of hard work, countless hours, holidays, missing out with the family … I would hope you had it in your heart for another chance.”
Security camera footage taken on Feb. 2, 2022, shows an ice crew employee, at lower left, glancing through a door at the Zamboni garage, capturing the moment he saw Detroit Red Wings Zamboni driver Al Sobotka peeing into a drain inside the garage. Sobotka was fired over the incident.
“I would love to go (out) on my own and retire. I have much respect for you and your family … I’m begging you, this is killing me.”
Illitch didn’t respond to a crushed Sobotka.
Sobotka, who was caught by a fellow employee urinating in a drain between two Zambonis on Feb. 2, 2022, says he has benign prostatic hyperplasia, which makes it difficult to regulate urination.
Christopher Ilitch in 2018. NHLI via Getty Images
Zamboni driver Al Sobotka twirls an octopus that was thrown on the ice during a stoppage of play. NHLI via Getty ImagesThe 70-year-old, who embarked on a 51-year career with the Red Wings when he was 17, was a fixture at Little Caesars Arena, where he was known for spinning octopi over his head after fans thew them on the ice.
“They all know I was done wrong,” Sobotka, who still struggles to sleep at night, said in a recent interview.
“It’s in my head, 24/7, ya know,” he said. “I have nightmares.”
