Basic Information About The Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act defines disability as:

- A person with a mental or physical impairment that limits their life activities, someone who has a previous record of mental or physical impairment, or finally someone who is seen by others as having such an impairment (Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services).

- The Americans with Disabilities act defines a physical impairment as a physical problem such as an anatomical loss or cosmetic defect related to the neurological, sense organs, respiratory, reproductive, digestive, cardiovascular, genitourinary, hemic and lymphatic, musculoskeletal, skin, or endocrine systems (Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services).

Does Tatyana McFadden's disability qualify as a disability under the ADA?

- Yes, Ms. McFadden is a disabled person because she has the physical impairment of spina bifida which has paralyzed her from the waist down; rendering her physically unable to use her legs (Gallo and Otto).

What implications does the ADA have for sports programs?

- The ADA affects sports programs in various ways, ranging from employment to communications. More money will need to be spent to help accommodate disabled people. Exercise and sporting facilities and programs must consider hiring disabled individuals. Telecommunications and phone services have to be made readily available to disabled peoples. The disabled individuals must have public transportation made open to them in order to help them participate in the sport, and the field of play and public accommodations it is part of must all be made reasonably accessible to the disabled individual. All of these things must be handled by the sports program and are significant in the disabled person's participation (MSU).

How does a school go about determining whether a person with a particular disability can participate in the sport?

- The school must determine if the disabled person applying for the team or sport is a "qualified individual," which means if they have the required skills to participate in a sport. The school cannot discriminate against disabled individuals, but they can modify the event for them to protect the safety of the other athletes involved (MSU).

Are there limits to how far a school must go to accommodate a person with a disability?

- A school must make reasonable and common sense modifications to programs and buildings that a disabled athlete or persons is going to use. These modifications could include wheel chair ramps to enter buildings and sporting areas, creating special equipment for the disabled individuals, or providing special help for a mental challenged person. A school is not expected to rebuild the entire facility or buy all new equipment for a team to accommodate a disabled person, they just need to provide the disabled individual with an equal opportunity to participate in activities such as sports (MSU).

What accommodations were granted to Ms. McFadden?

- Tatyana McFadden will be allowed to race in four events (200, 400, 800, and 1600 meters) in her next high school track event, and each time she will be racing against other girls, not on a track by herself. The ability to compete against other runners on the same track in her wheelchair is the major accommodation that she was given (Gallo and Otto).

What is the basis for the distinctions between the opportunity to participate and the opportunity to score points?

- The opportunity to participate merely gave Tatyana McFadden a chance to race around the track by herself; not the possibility to compete with other high school athletes. Although Tatyana will be scored on a different scale from her racing competitors, she will still be in direct competition with them and have a chance to help her team win, and actually feel like she is in the same event (Gallo).

Do you believe once the opportunity to play is granted then it should follow that whatever points she scores should count as though she were a non-disable athlete? Why?

- Although Tatyana McFadden is disabled, her points should not be counted as equally as a normal racers. Now that she is allowed to compete versus the average runner in her wheelchair, she gains a distinct advantage speed-wise over a normal person, as she can wheel herself much faster in the chair. Since she gains this advantage her point system should be handicapped as to bring her onto the same level as the average normal runners. This would be to ensure that her disability doesn't give her or Atholton High an unfair advantage in track, as the Americans with Disability Act only grants her equal opportunities, not greater ones.

Briefly tell the story of Casey Martin and what happened when he needed to use a golf cart in professional golf. What did the highest court say and why?

- Casey Martin is an achieved golfer who has played on the same Stanford golf squad as Tiger Woods and Notah Begay. He is also affected by a degenerative circulatory disorder in his legs that makes him unable to walk a full golf course, many of which are longer than 7,000 yards. He is qualified as a disabled individual under the Americans with Disabilities Act and should therefore be entitled to equal opportunities wherever he goes despite his physically impairing leg condition. Casey Martin decided to join the Professional Golf Association and play professionally after his college career, but the PGA has strict rules regarding their members walking the golf course during competitive rounds in tour events. Since Casey was unable to physically walk the entire course for four straight days due to the circulatory problems in his legs, he lobbied the PGA to allow him to use a golf cart in order to compete with the other golfers. The PGA did not want this, claiming that it would ruin the walking precedent that the tour has always enforced. The Supreme Court found that under the ADA Martin deserved equal access to the PGA tour if he was qualified, and that by allowing him to use a cart it would not affect the normal walking rule in the slightest. Martin's fatiguing disability would tire him out the same way walking would tire an average tour player, and in a seven to two decision the high court ruled he would be allowed to use a golf cart in PGA tour play, and he did (Goldman).

Works Cited

Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services "The Americans with Disabilities Act and People with Physical Disabilities." < http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/Disabilities/Physical/definition.htm> C. 2006

Gallo, Jon and Otto, Mary. "Wheelchair Athlete Wins Right to Race Alongside Runners." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701886.html Washington Post 18 April 2006.

Gallo, Jon. "McFadden to Earn Points Against Runners." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801838.html Washington Post 19 April 2006

Goldman, Jerry. "PGA Tour v. Martin (2001)." Oyez U.S. Supreme Court Multimedia. http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/1156/ C. 2006

Michigan State University Disability Sports Web Site. "Americans With Disabilities Act." http://edweb6.educ.msu.edu/kin866/lawada.htm C. 2001