People with disabilities and sports
We want to be spectators. Many of us want to be or are, participants. So why is it that we face so many freaking barriers?
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As a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan for more than four decades and compound archery 2024 Paralympic hopeful, it is unfortunate that one of the places that I have experienced the most overt public disability discrimination is in the sports setting.
The Stadiums / Stadium Amenities
Stadium accessibility is notoriously sketchy. The ADA is about to celebrate its 32nd birthday. Anything designed more than 35 years ago can be difficult to negotiate. Candlestick Park, a pre-ADA ballpark fortunately no longer with us, was a nightmare. My father used to get someone to fold and take my wheelchair up a monster three-story escalator in front of me, and then I hung onto his back for dear life (even as a six-foot-tall 12-year-old). New stadiums aren’t always better. Litigation has been filed against the Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, and a “less than” experience that was part of a Wrigley renovation ADA lawsuit.
Even when stadium accessibility is good, there are lines for elevators that detract from the experience. Sometimes I leave ball games before I want to, just to beat the crowd of parents pushing strollers to the elevator. If it’s a nail-biter and I stay to the end, I’m guaranteed an extra 30-minute wait getting down to street level because people with mobility issues don’t get priority elevator use. Lines for the bathrooms are also problematic. I rarely drink beverages while at a ball game in fear of not being able to find a functional, accessible restroom.
Getting to the stadiums can also be problematic or expensive for people with disabilities. Parking for my last ball game was $50. They used to let people with accessible parking cards park in the player parking section, but that stopped a few years ago when they converted one of the parking lots to office…