Disabled high school athlete fights for the right to compete
Sport in Society promotes choices and options for athletes with disabilities
(3-23-06) BOSTON, Mass. - In the federal lawsuit filed by female wheelchair athlete Tatyana McFadden against the Maryland Howard County School System, McFadden argues that she has a right to compete to her own standard alongside her non-disabled peers in high school track competitions. Eli Wolff, director of the Disability in Sport program within the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, believes that Tatyana does have this right.
�Wheelchair athletes can compete in wheelchair divisions of a sport event or, when appropriate, they can compete to their own standard directly alongside other non-disabled athletes,� said Wolff. �Athletes with disabilities have choices that need to be honored and valued in our society. Tatyana wants to be able to compete to her own standard directly alongside her non-disabled peers. This is no different than a non-disabled girl racing to her own standard alongside non-disabled boys.�
In an article in the March 16 edition of the Baltimore Sun, the Maryland County School System contended that, "Wheelchair racing involves athletes using their upper body, arms, shoulders and no use of the legs. We feel it is material alteration of the sport to have a wheelchair athlete in a running event."
�As a society we need to value and respect people with disabilities as part of sport and our sport culture,� said Wolff. �We need to transform discrimination and stigma to acceptance and recognition.�
According to Wolff, there is a need for increased education and policy development to address the athletic needs of persons with disabilities within all levels and all aspects of sport.
�There is an opportunity for high school athletic officials in Maryland to recognize and see wheelchair racing as a discipline of the sport, and that it can be implemented where the wheelchair athlete competes directly alongside or within a specific wheelchair division. Both options and choices are legitimate and necessary,� said Wolff.
The Disability in Sport program advances access, inclusion, equality, respect, legitimacy and opportunity for people with disabilities in sport and in society. Through research, education and advocacy activities, Disability in Sport addresses the invisibility of people with disabilities.
About The Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern
The Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University is one of the world�s leading social justice organizations that use sport to create social change both nationally and internationally. The flagship organization located in the heart of Boston, Mass. was founded in 1984 by Dr. Richard Lapchick and touts branches in Baltimore, Md. and Phoenix, Ariz. Through research, education, and advocacy the center promotes physical activity, health, violence prevention, and diversity among young people and college and professional athletes. Sport in Society�s innovative programs are all staffed by former college or professional athletes and have been awarded America�s most successful violence prevention program by Lou Harris, the Peter F. Ducker Award as the most innovative non-profit program in the social sector, and have been cited as the National Crime Prevention Council�s 50 Best Strategies to Prevent Violent Domestic Crimes.
