Should people with disabilites be allowed to play highschool sports?

Question

I have a essay to write, and I wanted to get other people opinion as I'm writing it.
This is the information I was provided with:



The Evergreen School Board is meeting later this week to decide whether a high school student with a disability should be allowed to participate in competitive athletics at Mountain View High School.

The student was born with a disability and is unable to walk on his own.

Those against his participation claim that it is a risk to his safety and the safety of other athletes.

Those who would like the boy to participate say that all students should have an equal opportunity to compete.

The school board is asking student representatives at Mountain View to contribute to the decision.

Answer 1

You've undertaken a very complex subject with no easy answers. However, I think I can answer your question by posing a few others:

• Should mentally retarded adults be allowed to perform surgery?

• Should blind people be allowed to work as crossing guards?

• Should deaf musicians be allowed to tune other musicians' instruments?

• Should men be allowed to dress themselves?

• Should children be allowed to drive cars and fly planes?

Yeah, a few of these questions are more tongue-in-cheek than others. But the point is this – life has its share of limits, disappointments, and unattainable goals for each of us. I didn't ask to be born left-handed, but I was, and I've learned to adapt. I can never be as adept at calligraphy as a right-handed person, simply because of the way the letters and strokes are formed. So I've moved on. I'm not able to think in two tracks at once, so playing the piano is probably not very high on my personal list of "things I'd be able to do well."

All of the arguments you mention – safety and protection of those involved, etc. – are more than fair and reasonable enough to decide against the issue. But in the litigious and self-centered society in which we find ourselves these days, there are those who want you to think it's not that clear cut. But, it simply is. Life isn't fair, the playing fields aren't level, and the doors to every opportunity aren't open to every person who thinks they should be able to go through them at their choosing. The good news is that the result is not life-ending; we need to seek other challenges that allow us to thrive in ways that are uniquely ours.

Answer 2

I'm not overly familiar with the Evergreen school system, nor with some facts about Mountain View HS that would influence the answer.
The most important are probably the ones everyone is overlooking. Is there a tryout process for the team, or is everyone who wants to be on the team accepted? Is playing time regulated by school/conference/state activity association regulations?
If it is a competitive tryout, I see no problem with letting the boy try out for a roster position - in other words, given the opportunity to compete. Making the team (in a competitive setting) or getting playing time (in an "take-all-comers" setting) is an entirely different story. I agree with those for his participation: everyone should have the opportunity to compete. However, the first opportunity for competition should be to make the team over someone else, or to earn playing time.
There is also another consideration: what sport are we talking about? There is a difference between a person who has difficulty walking playing baseball (where he may be an effective DH) or golf (where the conference may allow him the use of a cart, a la PGA golfer Casey Martin) and the same person playing football or basketball, where running is an integral part of the game.

Answer 3

The Special Olympics were created to give disabled people a chance to compete. Sure the disabled person has a right to play, but his right shouldn't hold any more weight than the rights of all the other players. If he is going to pose a safety risk, he absolutely should not be allowed on the team.

Going even a step further, though it sounds harsh, I think even if he's not a safety risk, if he's not just as skilled as the other members of the team, he should go join an adaptive sport or find something else he likes to do. Perhaps he is just as good, despite his inability to walk. In that case, I'm sorry for making assumptions. But he should not get a spot on the team over somebody else simply because he's disabled. He should have the right to try out, but shouldn't get special treatment on a non-adapted team.

Everybody's rights only extend so far as to where they meet the rights of everybody else, is what I'm saying. You wouldn't say a mentally retarded person had the right to be a brain surgeon just because that's what he wanted to do. Same deal here... Sort of...

Answer 4

My inital response is :All students should have an equal opportunity to compete, period.

It should be taken into consideration however what the school's policy and or mission statement is regarding the treatment of peoples with disabilities. A student can't come into a school and expect a long-standing policy to change on account of his/her INDIVIDUAL special needs. (Ie: no one in a 300+ school can eat peanuts because of one persons nut allergy).
Also, no one is considering that the people making the choice don't have to live with the consquences. They should ask the student body or the athletic team at the school to take a vote since they have to live with the decision. It's really more their choice then the adults choice.

Also, what about the school's insurance policy in case someone does get hurt? How will it be affected?

I hope that this helps you to consider the question more closely.

Answer 5

Perhaps a better idea would be for the school to allow ALL handicapped students of any kind to participate in a sport designed for them but requiring them to use all of their capabilities as any other athlete would. Just because they are handicapped doesn`t mean they don`t have the same teenage thoughts about sports, proms or any other major school event that you do.The way it stands is not the best choice for either party.

Answer 6

Just as they have the special olympics for mentally challenged and special competition for disabled athletes, I think that there should be competition between disabled athletes in high school. I agree that a disabled athlete can be injured competing against nondisabled. Common sense, not political correctness should prevail.