This story is one of the most egregious examples of misplaced attention I've seen in awhile. A Yankees fan named Joseph Neubauer was fired from his job at the Taxi and Limousine Commission because he skipped a day of work last September to attend a Yankees game that was rained out. Neubauer hadn't missed a Yankees home game since the 1970s, and was just trying to keep his streak alive. No big deal, right? Well, as there always is with stories like this, there's more to the story than meets the eye, via CBS New York.
The trouble stemmed from a game on September 19, 2012.
The Yankees were rained out the night before and rescheduled for the next day. Neubauer refused to break his 38-year tradition and took a day off from work without permission.
“I feel like I regretted it in a way. I just want to try to come back,” he said.
Officials at the Taxi and Limousine Commission say it wasn’t the first time Neubauer had gone AWOL.
A Judge suspended him for 60-days without pay in 2011 for going to Phoenix for the All-Star game even though his vacation request had been denied.
A year prior to that Neubauer had been suspended for 25 days after calling out sick for 13 Yankee games. Despite his problems in the past, Neubauer said he just wants his job back.
So yes, while termination for skipping a day of work might seem a bit harsh on the surface, this isn't the first time this has happened. He had been suspended for 85 days for skipping work to watch baseball in the past few years, and doing it again was the straw that broke the camel's back.
But hey, at least he's seen some awesome baseball over the last few years in New York! Since the Yankees won the 2009 World Series against the Phillies, they've been ousted in the ALCS in 2010 and 2012, and lost in the ALDS in 2011 while more than likely missing the postseason in 2013.
I understand having a passion and wanting to indulge in that passion, but once it starts interfering with your work, you're probably taking things a little too far.
[CBS New York via CBS Sports]
