Disability in sports is a
controversial topic that is constantly brought up in the media. One particular
and recent story was that of Tatyana McFadden, a paralympian athlete who was
once at the center of a media firestorm in 2006 surrounding her desire to
compete in county track and field competitions. Born with spina bifida,
McFadden is paraplegic yet is a juggernaut athlete who has clearly proven her
ability – totaling six gold medals and holds many records on the track (Gamer).
As the article from the Washington Post explains, McFadden wanted to compete in
track and field events for her high school, Atholton – a school located in
Howard County, Maryland. However, officials within Howard County balked at the situation
citing safety concerns – expressing worry that McFadden may drift out of her
lane and injure another competitor – and a lawsuit filed by McFadden and her
mother ensued shortly after (Gallo and Otto). It was ruled that Howard County
was in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and
therefore had to allow her to compete (Gallo and Otto). This quest for equality
has led to changes within the county, however, McFadden would be scored differently
than able bodied competitors and had to perform alone on the track. Although
McFadden made huge progress within the county for equality for disabled
athletes, she was still marginalized because she was not in the norm of able
bodied competitors. At the time, McFadden was a four time gold medalist at the
Paralympic Games in Athens, setting multiple records that still stand to this
day. She has even added two more gold medals to her collection in Bejing, and
is currently training for the Summer Games in London (Gamer). For all that she
has achieved, McFadden was still pushed into the margin by Howard County’s
officials simply because she does not meet the norm. It seems odd that Howard
County officials would cite safety concerns requiring McFadden to compete on
her own – one would think an athlete of her caliber can easily stay in her lane
without endangering other competitors – perhaps it was their attempt to
desperately enforce the norm upon an individual. However, they further
ostracized someone who just wanted the simple desire of competing along with
other people.
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Gamer,
Nikki. "Tatyana McFadden: Howard County's 'Lady Velocity'." Explore
Howard.com. The Baltimore Sun, 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 7 May 2012.
<http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/howard/publications/howard-magazine/bs-exho-tatyana-mcfadden-howard-countys-lady-velocity-20120328,0,5289617.story>.
Gallo,
Jon, and Mary Otto. "Wheelchair Athlete Wins Right to Race Alongside
Runners." The Washington Post.com. The Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2006. Web.
7 May 2012.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701886.html>.
