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Bob Lobel sues Newton country club for not letting him use specialized cart to play there
By adamg on Wed, 11/11/2015 - 10:27am
Former sports anchor Bob Lobel, who now walks with crutches due to a series of injuries and surgeries, this week sued the Woodland Golf Club in Auburndale under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In his lawsuit, filed this week in US District Court in Boston, the avid golfer charges the club discriminated against him in 2014 by refusing to let him use a specialized golf cart that lets him play while sitting down on the grounds the cart could damage its greens.
In his complaint, Lobel claims the types of carts he uses on course elsewhere are "designed and constructed to distribute weight evenly upon the golf course to eliminate damage to the course, and enable the golfer to drive onto tee boxes, greens and bunkers without causing damage beyond that of a non-disabled golfer using the course."
The lawsuit alleges that Woodland is not really a private institution but instead provides public accommodations through a series of charity events open to the public and because it rents out its facilities to anybody with enough cash, and so is subject to the ADA and a comparable Massachusetts state law.
Lobel is seeking at least $250,000 in damages, plus penalties and lawyers' fees.
As a direct and proximate result of WOODLAND’s unlawful discrimination, plaintiff has sustained injuries and damages including the right to socialize with longtime friends, feelings of isolation and depression.
Woodland is not the first course to bar Lobel from playing with one of the carts. In a 2013 column about playing from a cart, he wrote:
Of course, there are some courses that absolutely will not let me bring the solo rider to play. What's the point in naming them? They know who turned me down, and they know they can change it all by getting a cart and publicizing the fact they support handicaps. And not just the ones given out by the USGA.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
| Attachment | Size |
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 Lobel's complete complaint | 203.63 KB |
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Comments
On the one hand, this does
On the one hand, this does seem like a valid claim, even if Woodlands is a private institution, inasmuch as people use golf courses for business networking and such to a degree that one could reasonably say it provides a necessary work function. While Lobel would have a possible ADA case against Franklin Park (including points re depriving him of mental health benefits) he probably still has a good point that he is being discriminated against by Woodlands.
On the other hand, Lobel is kind of a douchebag, so I can't get as worked up about this as I normally might.
Equal protection
Even for douchebags. Otherwise, you set precedence for ignoring non-douchebags too.
too true
"Even assholes deserve a defense attorney."
he wants both
Even assholes with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations under the law.
The court will decide if Bob's accommodation on Woodlawn's greens is reasonable.
Bob's asking for $250,000. I hope he wants the accomodaion not the money. Alas, he's an asshole, he wants both.
Exactly
Accommodate him, by all means. Hand him a huge ca$h "settlement", no way. And I'd say that even if we weren't talking about Bob Lobel.
I used to think he was a DB too..
when watching him on TV...and he very well may be one. But after reading an article about the surgeries he went through and his basic rejection of using opioids for pain relief (for fear of becoming addicted) I have a newfound respect for the guy.
Perhaps he is filing this suit with other handicapped golfers in mind.
Not to mention, the whole history of the Country Club atmosphere in general (exclusion, racism, etc) makes me want to automatically root against the golf establishment. Talk about douchebags.
Good for him, he's fighting
Good for him, he's fighting for what is right for him and others who are physically disabled, thousands of people are being stepped on everyday without even knowing it by corporations , whether it's cheating their employees from having the right pay to ignoring the disability act. People need to stand up for what is right.
Did you mean this
And yes, I'm fully aware that not all accessibility issues revolve around wheelchairs and other riding carts. Not all accessible issues are even visible from the outside, but your comment was kind of funny.
No, what he meant was
That Bob Lobel shouldn't take this insult sitting down!
HSD = Joe Biden
Joe, you really should have run for President. You'd have easily won the nomination, then would have beaten any of the 827,862 Republican candidates out there.
Woodland
When asked for comment, the manager at Woodland pointed at a group of able-bodied golfers out on the course and asked, "why can't we get players like that?"
More to the story, from WCVB,
More to the story, from WCVB, in part
'' Lobel said Woodland told him they do not permit so-called adaptive carts onto their course if they are driven either into bunkers or putting greens.
David Garfinkel, general manager of Woodland, told the Bosotn Globe that the club has permitted Lobel, and others, the use of an adaptive cart everywhere on its course except for the greens.
“We’ve accommodated Mr. Lobel’s request to have access to the golf course. Mr. Lobel has access to our tees, to our fairways, to our roughs, to our approaches,’’ Garfinkel said. “No one has access to our greens in carts.’’
Garfinkel said the club conducted its own test and found the specialized carts would damage the greens creating an expense for the club to repair.''
http://www.wcvb.com/money/bob-lobel-accuses-woodland-golf-club-of-discri...
How much damage does the ADA allow to greens? Who determines if and how much damage is done? Is Lobel a member or a guest?
I don't feel bad for former
I don't feel bad for former millionaires! Whatever their current circumstances are physically or financially.
I also have no pitty for
I also have no pitty for someone who's been in the local public eye for years and who probably had a 6 figure income at the height of his career and wants more of it.
Why is this news anyhow?
Suing a fucking Newton golf course is news we can all use.
Meanwhile civilians are being slaughter in Syria!!
Calm ya livva
I hope you're not going to tell me you come here to read about Syria.
Have Pitty on ya Livva
sorry.
Lawrence in Arabia: War,
Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/books/review/lawrence-in-arabia-by-sco...
I don't buy it
Pebble Beach allows accessible golf carts (which are much lighterweight and differentially distributed compared to regular carts) on its greens.
Woodland is likely to lose this one.
Possibly apples and oranges
Pebble is a seaside course designed to take double or triple the traffic a course like Woodland receives. A lot of this is dependent on green construction, type of grass, drainage, areas of shade/sun and other factors. For example - you could probably let this device on Franklin Park with no problem as they have very leafy hard packed greens. But I've also played courses where a vehicle like that would absolutely destroy the greens and it may even depend on certain weather conditions, time of year and a host of other issues.
Can't say whether Woodland will win or lose - as I know nothing of the course other than it looks pretty when you drive by, but depending on the type and condition of the greens, they may have a very good case.
as with many other problems
there is a terrific design solution for protecting the greens and supporting mobility. It would be nice to see a settlement fund such a project.
It would be even nicer to see
construction of such a design solution be the settlement, instead of handing a big wad of cash to somebody.
Lobel probably has the law on
Lobel probably has the law on his side because of the PGA v Martin decision, when golf jumped the rails from being a "sport" to being "recreation".
Very different issue
In the Casey Martin case the issue at hand was whether or not walking was intrinsic to the competitive professional game. The Tour and many players said yes and the courts said no (FWIW - I agreed with the courts). I think the result is that the Tour can now permit carts in very exceptional cases. What Casey did effectively on one leg was nothing short of remarkable.
And if you think the modern professional game is "recreation" you need to watch a couple of tournaments. There are probably NFL players that would love to have the bodies some of the top golfers have now. Post Tiger you'd better be physically ripped or you won't last long out there assuming you can even get there in the first place.