Roy Lester, 61-Year-Old Jones Beach Lifeguard, Fired For Refusing To Wear Speedo: Lawsuit

LONG BEACH, NY--A 61-year-old Long Island man says he lost his job as a lifeguard at Jones Beach when he refused to wear skimpy swim trunks for the annual swim test.

Roy Lester 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. Lester estimates 80 percent of the lifeguards at Jones Beach are over 40.

"I wore a Speedo when I was in my 20s," Lester told The New York Daily News. "But come on. There should be a law prohibiting anyone over the age of 50 from wearing a Speedo."

State officials declined to comment.