FORT MYERS, Fla. – His hunger strike may be over but the assistant golf pro who was fired last week at the Legends Golf Course and Country Club in Lee County, Florida says his protest on how he was treated lives on.
Brad Stecklein was fired May 3 from the position he held at Legends for more than 14 years, he said.
The 42-year-old golf professional started a hunger strike that day, sitting in front of the club’s entrance off Fiddlesticks Boulevard without sleeping or eating in protest over what he says was the unjust and unwarranted firing.
After losing 20 pounds and with the concerns of his wife and Legends residents paramount, Stecklein pulled back on the more severe portion of his protest.
“They didn’t want me to have a heart attack. They said there was a different way to do this,” he said Sunday morning, decked out in the flamboyant golf attire he is known for. “This isn’t going to end. I have a chance to make a difference.”
Stecklein also found himself being aided by residents and others with the creation of a fund to help him and his family.
A resident set up a GoFundMe Friday for Stecklein and by Sunday morning more than $5,600 had been collected.
“Florida being an ‘at-will’ state means a worker can generally be fired without cause or notice,” the preamble to the GoFundMe said. “While that may be legal, we, as members of this community, feel that does not represent the heart of who we, the owners are.”
Brad Stecklein, the former assistant golf pro at Legends Golf & Country Club, is on a hunger strike outside the club on Tuesday, May 4, 2021, after being let go on Monday after working there for more than 14 years. Hundreds of members have stopped by to give him water and offer support to him. (Amanda Inscore/The News Press)
The GoFundMe said Stecklein had done more than just serve as assistant golf pro.
“He has served us, become part of our Legends family, and is part of so many of our fondest memories made here. Walking into the Pro Shop seeing Brad after being gone for months, his great big smile and ‘welcome back’ always made me know I had just come home,” Hal Schichtel, the creator of the funding page, said. “We all have our own favorite memories to share, and woven through each one is the laughter, professionalism, and his commitment to excellence in serving each of us.”
Stecklein said he hopes to never have to touch that GoFundMe money.
“For someone to do that is a sign of how much they care,” he said. “It is amazing someone would do that on my behalf.”
Stecklein said he has also received words of support via emails and texts from around the world, especially after his story was picked up by Golfweek.
“The messages never stop pouring in,” he said. “Around 250 members and a couple professional athletes said they would pray for me.”
Legends Golf & Country Club member Dr. John Pawlowicz, right, stops to offer support to Brad Stecklein on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. Until Monday afternoon, Stecklein was the assistant golf pro at the club. He says he was let go without warning or severance. “He’s a great guy. I think the world of him,” said Pawlowicz.
Stecklein said he was let go Monday and not given a reason.
“In 14 years I’ve never been written up,” he said.
Legends general manager and chief operating officer Ranae Frazier said she had no idea why Stecklein was staging his protest outside the property and declined to make a statement. She said only, “Nobody is fired without cause.”
Chad Perkins, the golf pro at Legends since December, could not be reached for comment and did not respond to requests for a comment.
Legends master board president Bill Hoffman did send out a letter May 5 to residents that was shared with The News-Press.
Hoffman said it was club policy not to comment publicly on the discipline or termination of a specific employee.
“However,” Hoffman continued, “the club would not terminate an employee without good cause.”
He concluded the letter saying the club would not hesitate to involve their attorneys if necessary.
And resident Lori Schichtel said she sent the following letter to Legends management: “As residents, we are calling on you, along with our Board/Management Team, to answer to those of us that have hired you. The way this has been handled can only negatively impact homeowners and employee morale along with our ability to draw professionals to ever seek work here.”
Residents and golfers at the club have been stopping at Stecklein’s protest site offering words of encouragement, hugs and commiseration.
One couple stopped Sunday morning and chatted with Stecklein, saying they had put money in the GoFundMe.
“I hope to give that back to you,” he told the couple. “Thank you, but I hope to not to have to use it.”
Stecklein said that a day or so after he was fired Legends did offer him three weeks of severance at an hourly rate but he declined.
“This isn’t about money now,” he said. “How is it acceptable for someone to be fired after 14 years without being written up and no exit interview?”
The Dubuque, Iowa, native switched from a journalism career after graduating from Iowa State University and working in radio for a few years to golf pro more than 16 years ago. He said his protest has taken on new focus Florida’s employment rules.
“I voted for Governor DeSantis,” he said. “I think he did a wonderful job with COVID.” However, Stecklein said he would relish a chance to bend the governor’s ear on at-will work rights.
“It’s tough,” he said about getting that chance. “But that doesn’t mean things can’t be talked about.”
Connect with breaking news reporter Michael Braun: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook), @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter) or mbraun@news-press.com.
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