INDIANAPOLIS -- A Hamilton County man who is hearing-impaired claims he was mistreated by the owner of an Indianapolis comedy club after the business refused his request for an interpreter. David Showers said he bought a ticket to see comedian Joe Rogan at Morty's Comedy Joint off 96th Street in September and asked club owner Chris Bowers if he would provide an interpreter, 6News' Renee Jameson reported. Showers said Bowers told him that the club would not provide an interpreter, and that if he wanted to bring his own, the person would have to buy a ticket as well. When Showers questioned the refusal, he said Bowers told him never to come back to Morty's. "I e-mailed him and told him, 'I don't appreciate you for mistreating me,'" Showers said. The Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center in Chicago told 6News in terms of providing an auxiliary aid or service, businesses should look at overall resources and their ability to pay, as well as whether the small business tax credit available under the ADA would allow the business to provide the service. "The issue is whether or not the business has explored whether or not they could provide it," said Peter Berg, project coordinator for technical assistance and employer outreach at the Great Lakes ADA Center. Bowers told 6News that they are a very small business with only 14 employees and cannot afford an interpreter. "The cost of having an interpreter is just not something we can do right now," he said. He also said that his comment about Showers not returning had more to do with Showers, who he said wants to be a comedian, and his attempts to get on stage. "I think part of this is he kept e-mailing me about stage time and, finally, I was like look, 'I don't think you're going to get stage time here. I don't think you're good enough. I don't think the crowd liked it,'" Bowers said. Showers said he asked for a refund over e-mail, but when he did not hear back from the club, he sold his tickets. Bowers said he did not get the e-mail asking for a refund until the day after the show.
Both sides have retained attorneys in the case.
