400-pound former student who can barely walk sues university for weight discrimination after he cannot become gym teacher

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.

"All I’d asked for was accommodations, virtual or through physical accommodations inside a classroom," Lopez told the News. "All I asked for was a reasonable accommodation."

Dearborn Public Schools were willing to let Lopez complete student teaching virtually, the lawsuit claimed, but Wayne State would not. Lopez believes the university based its decision entirely on his weight.

"There’s no doubt that was the reason why," Lopez told the Detroit News.

"They don’t think I fit the description of what a P.E. teacher was because I’m very overweight," he also said.

"There was no other reason. I passed everything."

The lawsuit claimed that Lopez unofficially completed half of his student teaching at a Dearborn elementary school but that WSU directed him not to show up for the second half.

It also claimed that a WSU professor encouraged Lopez to complete his degree without earning a teaching certificate, but Lopez insisted to the News that he has a passion for teaching and that his inability to participate in sports and other activities would not prevent him from becoming a successful teacher. As evidence, he pointed to his experience coaching a sports team shortly after he graduated high school, which likely occurred more than 20 years ago.

Lopez indicated to the News that he did not want to sue the school but felt that WSU left him "no other choice." "I’m doing it because I have nothing, and I have no way to earn a living now because they took away my opportunity to get a degree," he said.

In the lawsuit, Lopez is seeking to be reinstated in the teaching program. Outlets including the News have indicated that Lopez has since changed his major to one more focused on health, even as they also refer to him as a "former Wayne State University student." It is not believed that Lopez transferred to another school.

In a countersuit, Wayne State called Lopez's lawsuit "frivolous" and asked that it be dismissed. The school also argued that an educational institution cannot legally be sued for weight discrimination, the Daily Mail reported.

The school did not respond to requests for comment from the Daily Mail or the Detroit News.

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