AL SOBOTKA

Morning 4 is a quick roundup of stories we think you should know about to start your day.

Al Sobotka said the Detroit Red Wings employee who turned him in for urinating in a drain while working has taken over as the team’s new Zamboni driver since Sobotka’s termination.

Former Detroit Red Wings Zamboni driver Al Sobotka spoke one-on-one with Local 4 about the urinating incident, being fired by the team, his current mental state and whether he would go back to his old job, if asked.

After 51 years of service, Olympia Entertainment would not overlook the indiscretion and fired him. Now Al Sobotka is fighting back.

The attorney for Al Sobotka claims the Detroit Red Wings were not justified in terminating him for urinating in a drain in the Zamboni well at Little Caesars Arena because he has a medical condition that requires urgent and frequent urination. Olympia Entertainment and the Red Wings have not commented on the case. After resurfacing the ice on Feb. 2, Sobotka urinated in a drain in the Zamboni garage. “He emigrated from Poland as a boy, got this job when he was 17 working at the arena,” Gordon said. “In February after he cleaned off the ice, nobody was around, he urinated in the drain in the Zamboni garage.

Longtime Red Wings Zamboni driver Al Sobotka was fired because another employee caught him peeing into a drain at Little Caesars Arena, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday. Sobotka’s lawyers say his rights were violated under Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, arguing that Sobotka was discriminated against due to his age and disability, the Detroit Free Press reported. Sobotka began working for the Red Wings when he was still in high school in 1971. The Red Wings iconic purple octopus, which has a place at LCA to this day, was named “Al” in is honor. He was also heavily involved in the Red Wings’ farewell marketing for Joe Louis Arena in 2017.

Longtime Zamboni driver Al Sobotka was fired by the Detroit Red Wings because he urinated into an ice pit while working, according to a wrongful termination lawsuit.

Longtime Zamboni driver Al Sobotka is suing the Detroit Red Wings, claiming he was wrongly fired because a medical condition forced him to urinate in an ice pit while working.

Longtime Detroit Red Wings zamboni driver Al Sobotka has been fired.

Morning 4 is a quick roundup of stories we think you should know about to start your day. So, let’s get to the news.

Al Sobotka, the longtime Zamboni driver for the Detroit Red Wings whose career spanned more than five decades in three arenas, has been terminated, a source told MLive.com. Sobotka, 68, was the building operations manager for Olympia Entertainment whose duties included the day-to-day operations at Little Caesars Arena. Sobotka gained notoriety during the Red Wings’ playoff runs in the 1990s, when fans rekindled the long-standing tradition of tossing an octopus onto the ice. The Red Wings had no immediate comment. The Red Wings created a marketing campaign around a purple octopus in the 1990s, which they named “Al.”More: Red Wings debate whether to get a look at top prospect this season

DETROIT – Al the Octopus is a beloved symbol of passion, tradition, and a whole lot of winning for Detroit Red Wings fans. According to a recent survey of more than 2,000 hockey fans in the U.S. and Canada conducted by Play Canada, Al the Octopus is the second most “obnoxious” mascot in the NHL behind only the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, Gritty. The Red Wings have won four Stanley Cups since and appeared in two more finals since 1995. The merchandise is everywhere, and real-life octopus have made appearances on the ice and in the stands at Red Wings games since the 1950s. Despite all this, there is no costumed Al mascot.