Article reposted from KCCI 8
Author: Todd Magel
http://www.kcci.com/article/athletic-trainer-says-drake-fired-him-over-medical-condition/8354012
Drake University’s head athletic trainer has a complaint against the university, saying he was fired after a medical condition forced him to urinate in a training room.
The trainer, 61-year-old Scott Kerr, worked at Drake for 31 years. Kerr is filing a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission
Kerr said he was diagnosed with a neutrally mediated syncope and an enlarged prostate, and both conditions cause him to urinate more frequently.
“I met with the athletic director and a representative of human resources expecting to get support for my condition,” Kerr said. “However, I was made to feel more embarrassed and humiliated.”
Kerr was fired after urinating in a dirty training room whirlpool because he didn’t have time to get to the bathroom. He cleaned the whirlpool and reported the incident, but was fired.
“The athletic director recounted a story where she, herself, urinated in her pants in an airport while on Drake business and told me I should have done the same thing,” Kerr said.
Sandy Hatfield-Clubb is the athletic director at Drake University.
“The same athletic director who said to Scott when she fired him he was one of the best employees she had ever known,” said Jerry Crawford, Kerr’s attorney.
Kerr has hired Crawford, along with Des Moines attorney Roxanne Conlin, to file a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. The case could end up in court if it is not settled.
“We know for sure what happened to Scott, and we know for sure that is illegal, and indeed outrageous when you think of the amount of time he has devoted to Drake,” Conlin said.
Drake University sent a statement to KCCI regarding Kerr’s complaint, which said the university cannot comment on personnel matters or issues pending before the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.