Quadriplegic lawyer sues The Apprentice
Jim Suhr
Canadian Press
Wednesday, February 09, 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.
C The Canadian Press 2005
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