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NM sportswriter fired after losing foot to Diabetes

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!, Mar 9, 2015.

  1. According to the lawsuit anyway ...
    Publisher sounds like a despicable person, if true.

    Courthouse News Service
     
  2. mpcincal

    mpcincal Well-Known Member

    Well, I'm sure there is another side of the story that will be told, but the saddest thing about this that if it is true, it will not shock me in the slightest.
     
  3. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    I like the Don't Walk graphic.
     
    Rawbot likes this.
  4. JayFarrar

    JayFarrar Well-Known Member

    Newspapers: A shitty business full of shitty people.
     
  5. RecoveringJournalist

    RecoveringJournalist Well-Known Member

    Wow. When I read the title, I (wrongly) assumed it would be another case of someone whose layoff happened to coincide with something bad happening to them personally.

    As someone who crossed paths with Matt Schuman (RIP) several times during my career, I've seen firsthand how someone with a disability do his job admirably.

    Even if the NM guy was on crutches for the rest of his life, there is zero reason to think he couldn't do his job as well as anyone.

    Disgraceful.
     
  6. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    I saw almost this exact thing happen to a former journalism colleague, except sub "car accident" for "diabetes."

    That's the day I realized everyone in the business who says they "care about people" is full of shit.
     
  7. RecoveringJournalist

    RecoveringJournalist Well-Known Member

    I worked at a paper where a writer suffered a personal tragedy and then basically didn't work (didn't cover any events) and only wrote a handful of stories that didn't require him to leave his house for two years afterwards before they went to him and said, "Look, you need to either come back to work full-time or quit."

    You could have split the section in half by people who thought the paper was too lenient with him and those who thought they were being heartless bastards by making him make that choice. He ended up quitting.
     
  8. PaperDoll

    PaperDoll Well-Known Member

    I thought employees couldn't be fired while on disability leave? Does that only apply to pregnancy? Or is it a state-by-state thing? It certainly seems like a good reason to get all agreements in writing, even if it's just via e-mail.

    We work with a sportswriter who has mobility issues, and another in a wheelchair. Neither has asked for significant accommodations, and I don't think anyone has asked if the stories would be better if s/he was out in the field more.
     
  9. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    He wasn't on disability leave. He had returned to work, but worked from home. Allegedly, the firing happened when he physically returned to the office.
     
  10. Mr. Sunshine

    Mr. Sunshine Well-Known Member

    Walking the sidelines is a terrible way to cover a game.
     
    Ace and FileNotFound like this.
  11. swingline

    swingline Well-Known Member

    For a straight football gamer, you're right. But if you want or need something more, walking the sideline can get you closer to what really goes on in a game.

    Walking the sidelines in cold November, however, sucks all kinds of dogs' asses.
     
  12. Mr. Sunshine

    Mr. Sunshine Well-Known Member

    They should just transfer him to the desk, where you don't even need legs.
     
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