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Posted on 07/17/2006 5:09:33 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Man Says Job Reviews Were More Favorable With 1 Eye, Rather Than 2
(STNG) CHICAGO James Filson says he always met and "often exceeded" the expectations of the Big Ten Conference in the eight years he worked as a football official for the collegiate athletic conference.
In the spring of 2000, an accident caused him to lose one eye. He returned to his job that season -- without informing his bosses of the accident -- and contends that in the five years that he worked with one eye -- which included officiating two Bowl games -- reviews of his work were, "on average, substantially better than the reviews he received in the eight years preceeding the loss of his eye."
But when the head football coach at the University of Michigan brought up the issue with the commissioner of the Big Ten, the conference decided to terminate Filson from his job as a referee.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court Monday, Filson asked for his old job back, as well as back pay and unspecified damages, saying he was just as good of an official with one eye as he was with two eyes.
In May of 2000, Filson lost his right eye after "missing a step, falling and hitting his eye on the corner of a table," the lawsuit states. After losing all the sight in his eye, Filson had the eye removed and a prosthetic put in. Filson officiated games for the next five years "without incident," the suit says.
But in spring of 2005, "when a reporter contacted Lloyd Carr, head football coach of the University of Michigan, and told him that [Filson] only had one eye," Carr contacted Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney, who then had Filson fired.
Filson was told by Delaney that he "failed to fulfill the 'minimum physical requirements' of the job and because he did not have a 'full field of vision.'"
Filson contends that Delaney "incorrectly perceived [his] physical impairment to substantially limit his sight."
The Big Ten's actions, Filson says, are a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
ping
Any one got a pic of this guy?
I wonder which one it was....
already here :)
You know, it really says something when the ref only has one eye, and no one notices.
For five years.
I wonder how long it would have taken them to notice if he was blind?
Sure...
LOL
thanks
I have not researched this issue but, shooting from the hip, I would say that the Conference is going to have a tough time winning this one. The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (and state disabilities laws) focuses on the employee's ability to perform the essential functions of the job. If the employee can perform, the employer is not supposed to discriminate based upon whether the employee has all of his fingers, toes, etc.
Lloyd Carr can get all of the refs in the Big Ten fired as long as he wants, but that still won't help him when he comes to Columbus in November.
That was mean, but funny.
I think my barber only has one good eye. He keeps it protected with a patch.
Can he force an airline to hire him as a commercial pilot ?
His best defense is: "They did not even notice for FIVE YEARS!!!!
He deserves to win.
Funny that Floyd Carr was the one to get him fired. No one has benefited more from the crooked officiating crews (largely based in Michigan) than UM.
Every year I think PSU will get a fair shake from the officials against Michigan. Every year I am let down.
Screw Delaney and his band of thieves.
This guy with sight in one is probably better then the worst refs in major conference football which belong to the Big 12. For a major conference Big 12 refs are an embarrasment to the Big 12 not only during conference play but during Bowl games. Carr would never survive the Big 12 and our refs if this guy bothers him! Game after game plays are routinely blown by our refs and they have called penalities sometimes that no one has heard of including the announces.
Pretty bad when on national TV the announces say the Big 12 refs make the worst calls. Time and time again last season the announcers questioned the calls because it was so obvious the refs were wrong.
Used to be OU football games here in Norman they didn't show instant replay of questionable calls in deference to the refs -- now they show them over and over again because they are so bad and happen so often. We will never win the sportsmanship trophy with the calls we have been seeing here from the refs that are obvious blown calls.
I always feel for the teams that get Big 12 refs in their Bowl Games. We have one crew that does a good job and that's it at least for the last couple of years. We have two of the worst in Bible's crew out of Austin and the crew headed by the guy from Stillwater.
Whoa! I AM a football referee of long experience at virtually every level from peewee to college to semi-pro (no NFL) - yet! I can personally state that "field of vision" is vitally necessary on the football field. Fellow officals and even he, himself can "cover" for his inabilities on the field. It does not make it fair or "right".
I am very disappointed that he did not remove himself from officiating and I am very disappointed that the ADA is probably going to get him reinstated as an official.
It really tells me that he has no respect for the integrity of the game and his official responsibilities - he cares only for himself!
Actually the Big Ten refs aren't as horrible as they used to be.
Back in the 2000-2002 timeframe, they were absolutely the WORST in the nation, but then Paterno went into a froth over it and they actually responded for a change.
Yeah, and he was roundly ridiculed as a crazy old man. Fact is, he is responsible for the replay that we now have - even though it still doesn't stop some blatent bad calls.
See last year's PSU/UM game where we were screwed out of another undefeated season by another sideline reception bad call and a mysterious 2 seconds added to the clock at Floyd's request.
Actually it was only one second.
He is a crazy old man, but every once in a while he gets one right. Remember I've met the man when he dedicated the high school stadium I used to play at in Pennsylvania to Rip Engle.
YOu are going to have bad calls because there is a human element to the game. On the whole, the Big Ten isn't NEARLY as bad as it used to be. Not even close.
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