By Nate Dougherty
At the Alabama state high school track meet last month, Mallerie Badgett pulled off a feat any athlete would be proud of: She took home gold in four events—the 100 meters, 200 meters, 800 meters, and 1,600 meters. Though she raced alone in all four events, Badgett’s performance may help open doors for hundreds of other athletes in her home state.
The 18-year-old Oxford High School student, who was born with cerebral palsy and races in a wheelchair, became the first athlete to compete in the state’s wheelchair division. In March, Badgett and her father filed a federal lawsuit against the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) over the right to race alongside other athletes on the track. Though a judge ruled against them the day before the meet, the AHSAA had already opened four events to athletes in wheelchairs before the suit and expanded the number of events wheelchair athletes can compete in after the case. The association has also worked with the American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (AAASP) to provide more programs geared toward disabled athletes.
A similar story is playing out in Maryland, where 18-year-old Tatyana McFadden sued the Maryland Board of Education seeking to earn points for her Atholton High School track team at regional and state tournaments. Last season, as reported in Athletic Management, McFadden brought a lawsuit against her school district and won the right to compete alongside her teammates. But this time she lost her federal appeal on the grounds that the state’s actions don’t violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, though a federal judge said the state’s rules are unfair nonetheless. The judge suggested that the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association needs to change those rules and come up with a fair scoring system for disabled athletes. Tatyana’s mother, Deborah McFadden, told The Baltimore Examiner she viewed the judgment in a positive light for disabled athletes despite losing the case.
“Are we disappointed? Of course we are, but I’m happy the judge is recognizing that there should be points and it should be fair,” Deborah McFadden said. “I believe the state has a lot of smart people, and they can figure this out.”
While nine states now have special wheelchair divisions for track athletes, there is still a reluctance to let wheelchair athletes compete alongside able-bodied runners in events. In Oregon, the parents of Brandon Caswell, a Pendleton High School track athlete who competes in a wheelchair, are petitioning the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) to let the athletes compete together and keep records of wheelchair events. The OSAA currently allows wheelchair events as exhibitions at state meets and does not keep year-to-year records. But officials in Oregon are wary about allowing wheelchair athletes to race next to runners at state meets, citing safety concerns.
“The OSAA in particular and the OSAA executive board philosophically believe the inclusion of wheelchair athletes fundamentally alters the competition,” Brad Garrett, OSAA Assistant Executive Director and coordinator of state track meets, told the Associated Press. “Different states around the country have taken different positions ... There is increased potential for injury to occur. Not everybody's as experienced as Brandon Caswell. Not everybody's an athlete like Brandon Caswell.”
Garrett’s fears were confirmed just one day after a story chronicling Caswell’s legal battle was told in the East Oregonian newspaper. At the Intermountain Conference Track and Field Championships, meet directors decided to allow Caswell to compete with able-bodied runners. As he was rounding a corner in the 3,000-meter final, his wheelchair clipped runner Jesse Bronson, sending Caswell to the ground and Bronson stumbling.
After the race, Caswell lamented that the situation plays right into the hands of those seeking to create separate races for wheelchair athletes.
“Every school is going to use this now," he told the East Oregonian. "It's heartbreaking. I wish it wouldn't have happened. I basically just kind of screwed myself.”
Though the efforts of wheelchair athletes to compete in track and field may garner the most headlines, it isn’t the only front where disabled athletes are being given more room to play. In New Jersey, state Assemblyman Fred Scalera has introduced legislation that would encourage the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association to develop competitive sports programs for disabled athletes. Aimed at helping find ways to play for the growing number of autistic students as well as those with developmental disabilities or visual impairments, the bill would encourage “adapted sports” modified to meet the needs of their competitors. Scalera wants New Jersey to partner with the AAASP to develop more athletic programs for disabled athletes.
“It is widely recognized that high school athletics can play a vital role in a student’s development,” Scalera said in a written statement. “Establishing adapted athletic programs will grant children with physical or cognitive disabilities the opportunity to enjoy the benefits and values of participating in high school sports competitions.”
Nate Dougherty is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management.