Just damn.
If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
Posted on 02/09/2005 12:35:12 PM PST by BroncosFan
Disabled Attorney Says 'Apprentice' Biased
The Associated Press
By JIM SUHR
Feb. 9, 2005 | ST. LOUIS |
(AP) - A quadriplegic lawyer has sued producers of NBC's "The Apprentice," saying the tryouts for the popular reality show discriminate by requiring that would-be contestants be in excellent physical health.
In his federal lawsuit filed here last week, James Schottel Jr. wants a preliminary injunction that would force the show's producers to drop such requirements that exclude him and "others similarly situated" from being considered for the show.
The St. Louis attorney, who has applied to try out for the show when auditions are to be staged here Friday, seeks no monetary damages. He said the lawsuit only is meant to correct a perceived Americans with Disabilities Act violation by Trump Productions LLC and Mark Burnett Productions LLC.
"This isn't a frivolous lawsuit," Schottel said Wednesday. "Since the ADA was enacted, there have been great steps in new buildings and accessibility by (the disabled). But I rarely see a person with a disability on anything" on television.
Schottel, who has not seen disabled people on "The Apprentice" show that bills itself as a "15-week job interview," said he's concerned that the application process either blocks or discourages them. He cited a form warning applicants that "you must be in excellent physical and mental health" and "meet all physical and psychological requirements."
Still, Schottel said he has no evidence anyone disabled has been rejected or discouraged by the show, now in its third season and pitting nine college graduates against an equal number of high school grads in what NBC bills as "book smarts against street smarts."
The series' prize is a job with a Donald Trump enterprise.
A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization in New York directed questions to Los Angeles-based Mark Burnett Productions, which did not return messages.
A spokesman for NBC, which was not named in the lawsuit, said several applicants in wheelchairs were interviewed during a casting call last week in New York.
Schottel called himself a fan of the real-estate mogul Trump, who he doesn't believe condones discrimination and "may leave all this more to the production company."
Schottel, a St. Louis native, attended Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan., where he kicked a 44-yard field goal in a playoff football game his freshman year. He said he sustained a spinal cord injury during a 1991 fraternity hazing in which he said no alcohol was involved. He graduated from Saint Louis University's law school in 1999.
The latest season of "The Apprentice," which premiered last month, offers some distinctions in the 18 cast members compared with previous seasons. There are more older candidates (the oldest is 41), more candidates with children (at least three are parents), more candidates with real estate experience (at least six) and no Ivy League graduates.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or distributed.
Just damn.
If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
I want to be a rocket Scientist, but I'm not smart enough. I think the rocket scientist field discriminates against people like me.
The Apprentice is entertainment, first and foremost. It is as absurd to sue the show for requiring healthy (and presumably attractive) people than it would have been for the same person to sue the producers of Pretty Woman for not considering him for the Julia Roberts character in that movie.
LOL. See #5, which I posted before seeing your post.
"How could you not see what was going on!"
''I want to be a rocket Scientist, but I'm not smart enough. I think the rocket scientist field discriminates against people like me.''
Yeah. Those crippled people must be real dumb. Afterall, you've never seen a gimp on Jeopardy... not in 50 years... not one gimp.... not even Stephen Hawking... no discrimination here... let's move on.
Hee hee LOL
More taxpayer money flushed down the crapper all in the name of vanity...
The Denver Broncoes did not offer me a contract, but I can run and throw a ball. It's discrimination.....
"... no alcohol was involved" has nothing to do with the case. It is frivilous though. Overall, I don't waste my time watching any of those programs...
I am not against this guy. It's billed as an interview and according to ADA (as flawed as it is) If he's mentally capable, let him have a try at it.
A spinal cord injury doesn't mean he's an idiot, however it would be difficult to walk around jobsites.
But you do take the time to comment on them?
You're fired moron! How can a disabled person renovate a motel, etc. Damn, I HATE lawyers
I've never seen a gimp on Jeopardy
I'll bet I'll never see one
And I can tell you here and now
That you will never see one
Just a thought...would casting this person on the show create a liability? I know this sounds terrible, but things like this happen everyday. If Trump told this guy "Your fired", would there be an impending lawsuit b/c of his disability?
I am all for equal rights--but where there is money, there is controversy.
Anyone who tries out for "The Apprentice" is mentally challenged.
Heck, I can probably drink Brian Griese under the table, why didn't I get to take over for Elway?
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