61-Year-Old Lifeguard Claims He Was Fired For Refusing To Wear Skimpy Swim Trunks

LONG BEACH, N.Y. (AP) -- A 61-year-old New York man says he lost his job as a lifeguard when he refused to wear skimpy swim trunks for the annual swim test.

Roy Lester tells the New York Daily News he was forced out of the job after 40 years in 2007 when he wanted to take the swim test in biking shorts instead of the tiny swim trunks.

He filed a lawsuit against the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in 2009. The lawsuit had been dismissed but was reinstated by an appeals court last week.

Lester is a triathlete, but says no one his age should be wearing tiny trunks. He says the bathing suit requirement was aimed at getting rid of older lifeguards.

State officials declined to comment.

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