Steve Sarkisian Claims His Alcoholism Is A Disability, Sues USC For $30 Million
Alcoholism is recognized as a disability in the state of California, and recently fired head football coach Steve Sarkisian, a noted alcoholic, is using this fact to sue Southern Cal for over $30 million.
Sarkisian’s lawyer, Alan Loewinsohn, claims that Sark was not given sufficient opportunity to seek treatment and put the bottle away so he could return to the sidelines, according to TMZ Sports. Of the desired 30 milly, 12.6 is the remaining money owed to him from his preexisting contract. The rest is for “mental anguish” he endured during the highly publicized ouster.
TMZ Sports has obtained the suit … in which Sarkisian reveals he came to grips with the fact he suffered from alcoholism in October 2015 … after a widely reported meltdown on campus.
Yet, according to the suit … SC “kicked him to the curb” when he needed its help the most.
We spoke with Sark’s attorney, Alan Loewinsohn, who tells us, “Alcoholism is a recognized disability under California law. So firing somebody because of that disability is against the law.”
Loewinsohn says Sark wants more than $30 mil to make things right.
Full disclosure: I have close to zero knowledge of state-recognized disabilities and how they work or how one can use them to their advantage. However, it seems pretty silly to me that a self-inflicted “disability” like alcoholism can be recognized. Cerebral palsy? Yeah, duh. There’s nothing you can do to avoid it and it obviously affects your ability to gain employment, among other things, in a big way. So yeah, folks with that clearly need assistance from Uncle Sam.
But alcoholism? You don’t have to drink, man. That’s a choice you make. Taxpayers shouldn’t be responsible for your inability to stop drinking. That’s my take, anyway. Is this common in most states? I honestly don’t know. Could just be a nutty California thing?
Further, it doesn’t pass the common sense test for me. Setting a precedent that alcoholism is a legitimate reason to suck at your job seems nonsensical. I foresee many Cali residents following in Coach Sark’s footsteps.
And hey, what about students at state universities? Can’t a UCLA student just be like, “Hey, I know I failed all my classes this semester, but I was drunk every day. You can’t kick me out of school. I’m disabled and shit.”
Just seems reckless..
[via TMZ Sports]
Image via Twitter/ @CoachSark
Pat Haden’s face is probably redder than usual today.
10 years ago at 4:02 pmThe Americans With Disabilities Act needs to be disbanded all together. ADA claims, NF.
10 years ago at 4:21 pmSo people with temporarily broken bones, in wheel chairs, and with diseases shouldn’t be protected from being able to keep and retain and advance in jobs?
10 years ago at 4:33 pmNo, fuck that.
10 years ago at 4:42 pmIt requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to allow QUALFIED employees to complete the essential tasks of the job at normal performance standards and that it does not prove to place undue hardship on the employer.
10 years ago at 4:53 pmFuck that shit. Some dough bag in a wheelchair shouldn’t get a job over me since he is in a wheelchair.
10 years ago at 4:56 pmIt won’t give someone in a wheelchair a job over you moron. It says an organization cannot deny qualified individual in wheelchair employment because they dont have an entrance ramp to the building.
10 years ago at 5:04 pmMore like Cutty Sark, eh?
10 years ago at 4:51 pmFuck you dubyas
10 years ago at 7:20 pmI haunt your dreams, don’t I?
10 years ago at 12:47 pmIt doesn’t matter if you think it’s a choice or not. California law lists it as a disability and that’s what he’s going off of.
10 years ago at 7:37 pmYeah if the school fires you because you get black out drunk every week night that is illegal. When you show up hammered to school events it’s completely within the schools rights to fire you
10 years ago at 9:31 pmI honestly hope that anyone who doesn’t regularly visit this website realizes that most of the comments presented here are entirely sarcastic. We all acknowledge that we drink a lot, so Sarkisian’s actions are a definite “TFM”. However, when we graduate from college it is our responsibility to establish our own presence as citizens in the community. It is definitely not a TFM to become drunken fucks in the community. Even if we keep drinking like we belong in college, it shouldn’t affect our work, and we should all continue to focus on becoming contributing members to society.
10 years ago at 1:55 amSounds like Randy Marsh
10 years ago at 9:02 amYou were fired because you showed up drunk to work multiple times, not because you’re an alcoholic.
10 years ago at 10:36 am