A New Jersey man is one testicle short after a horrific business “team building” exercise and the actions of a drunk boss led to three failed testicle surgeries. This is the story of Michael Peacock (his real name!).
In 2012, Peacock, 45, worked for data security and storage company Iron Mountain Management. That July, Peacock’s boss, Richard Langtry, thought it would be brilliant to take his employees on a two-day “team-building” outing that would entail bar-hopping and a cruise on the Hudson in upstate New York.
For Langtry, the outing began with day drinking. Peacock alleges that over the course of that day, Langtry became “increasingly loud and aggressive” and “drank heavily throughout the day and into the evening.”
At some point on that fateful cruise as Peacock and Langtry passed each other by the restroom, a presumably drunk Langtry “grabbed [Peacock’s] left testicle, squeezed it hard and pulled it down as if to rip it from his groin,” according to court papers. The attack caused Peacock to double over in pain.
According to his lawyer, Peacock, who stands at at 6’8”, alleges that Langtry’s violent testicle yanking “was a perverse and misguided attempt by Langtry to bond with Peacock while simultaneously demonstrating his authority and dominance.” Langtry is much shorter than Peacock.
Since the incident, Peacock has endured three surgeries to repair the testicle but was eventually forced to amputate. He has since suffered from chronic pain and is unable to perform sexually.
To add insult to injury, Peacock’s coworkers allegedly abused him over his uni-ball status by calling him “drag queen” and urging him to “chop the other one off.” “It’s akin to hazing,” said Christopher Kelly, Peacock’s lawyer.
While Langtry was fired after the incident, Peacock alleges that Iron Mountain also pushed him out of his job by cutting his pay after the incident and switching his job position. He is now suing Langtry, Iron Mountain and the three venues who supplied Langtry with alcohol for unspecified damages.
How much money would you want if you lost a testicle and your job?
