A 71-year-old former Centennial High School baseball coach has tentatively settled his lawsuit against the Compton Unified School District in which he alleged he was wrongfully fired in 2022 because of his age.
Gerald Pickens also contended in his Los Angeles Superior Court that he was denied in his repeated requests to have a key to the baseball field restroom to accommodate him for his use of a colostomy bag after he earlier dealt with colon cancer.
On Thursday, Pickens’ attorneys filed court papers with Judge Robert B. Broadbelt notifying him of a “conditional” resolution in the plaintiff’s case and that a request for dismissal will be filed by April 15. No terms were divulged and it was not immediately clear if final approval of the accord is up to the Board of Education.
In their court papers, CUSD attorneys denied Pickens’ allegations. They said he was a walk-on coach without a guarantee of employment every year.
Pickens had “documented deficiencies including a lack of on-field presence, poor communication and inadequate student supervision,” the district’s attorneys additionally said in their court papers while adding that an employer’s duty to accommodate is not triggered until the employee provides sufficient information regarding their specific limitations or restrictions.
According to Pickens’ suit, he was hired as Centennial High’s baseball coach in February 1993 and was a revered face of the school for decades, having won many awards and honors, and he wanted to continue in his job for many years to come.
However, Pickens became ill in 2014 and was diagnosed with colon cancer, according to the suit, which further stated that although the plaintiff was “devastated,” he underwent surgery and chemotherapy treatments and continued to work as Centennial’s baseball coach.
Pickens’ treatment was successful and his cancer went into remission for a while, but returned in 2017 in four organs, the suit stated. He had life-saving surgery, but had to wear both colostomy and urostomy bags and needed help at times from assistant coaches, the suit stated.
Pickens also wanted access to a restroom near the baseball field, which is typically locked when practice occurs after school, so he could empty his colostomy bag, the suit stated.
“Making it to the restroom in time to empty his colostomy bag became a source of anxiety and stress for Pickens,” according to the suit, which stated the school administration continued refusing over the ensuing years to give him the restroom key, forcing him to walk about 300 yards to the next closet facilities.
Pickens ultimately began soiling his clothes on various occasions because he could not get to a restroom on time and in February 2022, a vice principal became angry because Pickens left his players unsupervised while he went home to change his attire, the suit stated. On another day, Pickens had to coach a game in unclean clothing, the suit further alleged.
Pickens hand-delivered a complaint letter to the Compton Unified School District regarding Centennial High’s alleged refusal to accommodate his restroom key request as well as his alternative appeal for a mobile restroom, but nothing was done, the suit alleged.
Pickens was diagnosed with depression in April 2022 and had suicidal thoughts, then in the next month suffered a stroke and was fired, the suit stated.
The district hired a new baseball coach at Centennial High in his early 20s in February 2023, according to the suit.