James Schottel didn’t let paralysis –the result of a fraternity hazing accident at Baker University — stop him from becoming an attorney.

Now, he says it shouldn’t get in the way of him being on “The Apprentice” TV show and the chance of running one of Donald Trump’s corporations, either.

Schottel, who practices law in St. Louis, last week filed a lawsuit challenging the reality show’s requirement that contestants be in “excellent physical” health. He contends the rule violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, since the show is, in effect, an extended job interview for Trump.

“I can’t put up drywall; I can’t walk up steps,” Schottel said. “But I can work a computer, draw, write and do a number of things. My brain works fine. To be a corporate executive, I don’t need to run a flight of steps.”

Schottel, 32, attended Baker University during the 1990-1991 school year and was the starting place kicker for the school’s football team. He booted a 44-yard field goal that year during a playoff game against Peru State College.

But his football career came to an end in March 1991, he said, when he slipped on water in the Zeta Chi fraternity house during a hazing exercise and hit his head against a wall. He has been a quadriplegic since.

He later finished his bachelor’s degree at Southern Illinois University and his law degree at St. Louis University.

“It took me a couple years of rehabilitation to be able to do normal things like brush my teeth on my own,” he said. “I had that football competitive mentality. I had the mindset I wasn’t going to let the injury defeat me.”

And that’s why he’s now fighting for the right to be on “The Apprentice.”

The show, currently in its third season, pits teams of would-be CEOs against each other in a series of business challenges, with Trump telling one contestant each week, “You’re fired.” The winner is hired to be in charge of one of Trump’s corporations.

Schottel said he had no evidence that the show’s rules — which also requires contestants to be in good mental health and “meet all physical and psychological requirements” — have kept anyone from applying.

He has applied for the show through the mail but has yet to hear back from producers.

The lawsuit, which names Trump Productions LLC and Mark Burnett Productions LLC as defendants, seeks to drop the physical requirements that exclude him and “others similarly situated” from being considered for the show.

“I’m doing this for myself and for other people,” he said. “I’m a fan of the show and of ‘The Donald.’ He’s not behind the application process. He wouldn’t support any discrimination.”

A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization in New York directed questions to Los Angeles-based Mark Burnett Productions, which did not return messages.

A spokesman for NBC, which was not named in the lawsuit, said several applicants in wheelchairs were interviewed during a casting call last week in New York City.

Schottel said he wasn’t sure whether he could win the competition. But he said he’d like the chance.

“Hollywood tends to discriminate against people with disabilities,” Schottel said. “I’m no Leonardo DiCaprio or anything, but I’m fairly intelligent, and I can handle myself well.”

6News video: Donald Trump, “You’re sued” Frat pledge at Baker paralyzed (03-05-91) NBC.com: The Apprentice