"It was mouthwash" claims teacher who was forced to retire after smelling of alcohol

A teacher has been forced to resign after a parent claimed to have smelt alcohol on his breath, but he blames the smell on having gargled Listerine.

Steven Sloan was a gym teacher at the Harlem school PS 102. The 60-year old is blind due to being born with macular degeneration and in 2006, he was nominated by Tony Danza to carry a torch for the Olympics in Italy.

However, his career came to a halt after a parent claimed to have smelt booze on his breath, the New York Post reports.

The parent proceeded to dig through the rubbish bin in Sloan’s office. She pulled out a Styrofoam cup that she claimed to have been carried by Sloan’s assistant. There was a brown liquid in the cup. The parent said she hadn’t seen Sloan hold the cup, but accused him of drinking.