DISABILITY SPORT RESEARCH INITIATIVE
Researh Fellows
PRESENTATION ABSTRACT :
The Inclusion of
the Paralympics in the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act:
Legal and Policy Implications for Integration of Athletes With Disabilities
into the United States Olympic Committee
Presented by:
Mary A. Hums, University of Louisville
Anita M. Moorman, University of Louisville
Eli Wolff, Brown University
Location: Alburquerque, NM
Date: March 2000
When the Amateur Sports Act was passed in 1978, it empowered the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to oversee and coordinate the activities of the Olympic Movement in the United States.
Recent amendments (the Stevens Amendment) to the Amateur Sports Act resulted in a new name for the Act. It is now known as the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. Among other changes initiated by amendments to this act, formal language is now included which incorporates the Paralympics and elite disabled athletes. In the United States, the USOC functions not only as the official National Olympic Committee (NOC), but also acts as the official National Paralympic Committee (NPC).
This is a very unusual structure, as in the majority of countries in the world, these two governing bodies are distinctly separate. The implications of these amendments are not yet clearly defined, but undoubtedly will result in the USOC to revisit the resources and services it provides to athletes with disabilities.
The implementation of these amendments has also become more complicated by the recent lawsuit filed by Mark Shephard, Manager of the USOC's Disabled Sports Services , against the USOC and the IOC. Shepherd alleges the USOC discriminated against athletes with disability in services and resources provided compared to able bodied athletes. Shepherd is seeking $1million in personal damages and $10 million in punitive damages.
The purposes of this presentation are to (a) present a brief overview of the current organizational structures of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, (b) provide information on the changes in the language in the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, (c) present information on Mark Shephard's discrimination case against the USOC and IOC, (d) discuss the policy implications of the changes in the Olympic and Amateur Sport Act and the Shephard case on integrating athletes with disabilities into the USOC structure.
Northeastern
University's
CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF SPORT IN SOCIETY
716 Columbus Avenue, Suite 161 CP
Boston, MA 02120
Phone: (617) 373-4025
Fax:
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