400-pound former student who can barely walk sues university for weight discrimination after he cannot become gym teacher – By Cortney Weil (The Blaze) / Dec 27, 2023
A severely overweight former student has sued a Detroit university after he was unable to complete its student-teaching requirement to become a certified gym teacher.
David Lopez, a 44-year-old man who weighs more than 400 pounds, has filed a discrimination lawsuit against Wayne State University. Lopez told the Detroit News that he fulfilled all the requirements for WSU’s physical education kinesiology program except for student teaching because the school would not provide him the necessary accommodations.
Lopez was initially placed to complete a student-teaching assignment at a school district in Dearborn, a city that borders Detroit. Before the student-teaching term began in winter 2022, a doctor indicated that Lopez would require accommodations on account of his health conditions, which include asthma, hypertension, and diabetes. He also cannot stand or walk for long periods of time, the doctor claimed.
