People Who Use Walkers Need Not Apply

In Denver, taking shots at the Oakland Raiders is as much a pastime as hitting the slopes during the winter. So it came as no surprise that prior to Sunday’s Oakland-Denver game, the Denver Post ran a piece detailing the recent declining success of the Raiders under the leadership of owner Al Davis. And Davis, writes author Jim Armstrong, has lost “it”:

He doesn't look the part these days, but Davis was the driving force behind what once was one of the most successful franchises in sports. No, really, we're not making this up. An 80-year-old man confined to a walker once ran circles around the competition.

Of course, Davis is not a player and doesn’t actually need to “run in circles” to effectively do his job. And it’s not clear how using a walker keeps Davis from success in the front office.
Armstrong’s comments – and a related front-page picture showing Davis using his walker – are part of a bigger cultural narrative that suggests sports are not a place for people with disabilities. It’s especially prevalent in the United States, where images of athletes with disabilities are rarely published or broadcast. The end result is a constant stream of images that define the ideal athletic body: a powerful, heterosexual, able-bodied male. The text and images in the Davis story help normalize this idea, and further suggest that whether it’s on the field or in the front office, sports are reserved for the able-bodied.
--Erin Whiteside

Disability and sports: Defining 'normal'

A colleague pointed out a Poynter.org column posted before Christmas that I had missed, but it is worth noting. Susan LoTempio, AME for Readership at The Buffalo News, wrote about "better-off-dead" framing that is common in stories about injured athletes. The recent example she used is the story of NFL player Kevin Everett, whose spine was seriously injured. She writes:

"In our athlete-as-hero worshipping culture, there seems no greater tragedy for an athlete than to be "normal" one day and "not normal" the next. That's why, when an athlete gets hurt, you get dramatic language in stories and headlines like, "fallen hero suffering the ultimate tragedy" or "waging an inspirational fight for his life."

In other words, we in the media perpetuate the definition of what is normal. And while it makes great copy, it assumes that the athlete's life may as well be over because he will never walk again, never play again, never be "whole" again."

LoTempio provides excellent recommendations for writing about athletes with injuries. She points out that wheelchair-users do lead "normal" lives -- many of them involving sports participation.

Must-see TV: This Nike commercial

Finally! A Nike ad that really says something fresh and important. Watch UW wheelchair basketball player Matt Scott in a commercial that I hope will direct attention toward the U.S. athletes who will compete in the Paralympics this September. The ad airs nationally tomorrow.