Waterboarding at Work Heads to Utah Court

Employee alleges torture; company calls it 'team-building exercise'
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 14, 2008 11:45 AM CDT
Waterboarding at Work Heads to Utah Court
Protestors demonstrate the use of waterboarding on a volunteer in front of the Justice Department in Washington in this Nov. 5, 2007, file photo.    (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

A Utah sales rep is suing his company after his boss waterboarded him as a “team-building exercise” outside a Provo office park, the Washington Post reports. Sure, the man volunteered, but he says he had no idea what he getting himself into. “I’m not getting any air,” Chad Hudgens says. “The sensation that’s going through my head is ‘I’m going to drown.’”

“You saw how hard Chad fought for air right there,” the supervisor reportedly said after the demonstration. “I want you to go back inside and fight that hard to make sales.” The company agrees the stunt was ill-considered, but says the intent was pure. “We’re not the mean waterboarding company that people think we are,” said one firm lawyer. (More waterboarding stories.)

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