Athletes with Disabilities in the Media

For the context of this blog, the terms ‘impaired’ and ‘disabled’ will be used interchangeably and does not look to marginalize anybody.

Gribble with fellow countrymen Adam Scott

My client, James Gribble on behalf of The Puffin Foundation, wants to help change the mindset of how impaired athletes are shown in the media, particularly in sports. Mr. Gribble suffered a tragic accident back in 2008, when he fell off a bar stool, that left him with permanent spinal cord damage, rendering him an incomplete C4-C5 quadriplegic (Keipert, 2014). Before the accident, Gribble was an accomplished golfer and his passion for the game has led him to continue pursuing the sport through the use of the Paragolfer (Keipert, 2014). The $35,000 contraption is a motorized wheelchair that allows my client to be upright, to perform a golf swing. He believes that athletes with disabilities can be better depicted through a popular golf equipment company such as Titleist, which can help change the perception of athletes with physical impairments. 

            The (mis)representation of impaired athletes is driven by the stereotypical images and exaggerated representation of impaired athletes in the media. These athletes that are depicted focus more towards the feel-good stories of overcoming disability and inspiration, and not on their high physical performance (Purdue & Howe, 2012).  Currently, the mainstream media ignores disability sports because the athletes are not physically “ideal” to the American society’s normative standards of an abled body (Hargreaves & Hardin, 2009). A study found that media stereotypes of the inspiration story became frustrating and tiresome according to wheelchair athletes, and claimed that the media portrayal was heavily responsible for this (Hargreaves & Hardin, 2009).

The lack of education and knowledge of disabilities is not fully understood in American society (DePauw & Gavron, 2005). This is attributed by the mediocre coverage disability sports receives compared to other mainstream sporting events. This further reinforces the status quo by desensitizing the public to the way that media ignores athletes with disabilities (DePauw & Gavron, 2005). Covering the disability sport as a sporting event first and the disability in the rear mirror, more interest can be generated (DePauw & Gavron, 2005). Among the many stereotypes, the term ‘supercrip’ is the main stereotype that poses athletes as a ‘hero’ for having overcome their disability (Hardin & Hardin, 2004). Many people with disabilities resent this stereotype and are just trying to live a ‘normal’ everyday life (Hardin & Hardin, 2004).

Although athletes with impairments have steadily increased with inclusion and acceptance in society, the labeling of athletes presents problems(DePauw & Gavron, 2005). Having these individuals in categories creates habitus, which allows it to continue. Instead of labeling, people depicting impaired athletes should move to categorizing on ability (DePauw & Gavron, 2005). 

For the relationship between Titleist and my client, James Gribble, to move forward, the following suggestions should be taken into account. First, Titleist should recognize that the athletes with impairments present a marketing opportunity to capitalize on. While in Australia more than 1.2 million play the game of golf, one of the largest concentrations in the world, with only a few thousand who are disabled participate (Keipert, 2014). In the US, ten percent of people with disabilities play the game of golf (Keipert, 2014). Titleist should understand that this sector of the market is a trending topic, with golf being recognized as an official Olympic sport in Rio 2016 (Harig, 2014). Including the game in the Paralympics is inevitable and Mr. Gribble has expressed his dreams of including golf in the Paralympics (Palan, 2013). Titleist has the opportunity to become a forerunner in disabled golf before other companies such as Taylormade or Ping.

            Titleist should develop a campaign that focuses on his golfing ability. First is to include advertisements through all forms of media: print, television, and digital. For a print advertisements, emphasizing James Gribble’s sheer physical ability, can be accomplished with similar options as .

For commercials, we suggest Mr. Gribble promoting the company’s flagship product, the Titleist ProV1 golf ball. He should be included with other big names golfers such as 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott or Bubba Watson in the commercial. This emphasizes the point that skill and ability to drive a ball far is the importance, not the fact that he is on a Paragolfer. To further push the envelope, teaming up with more mainstream members under Titleist, such as Rickie Fowler and Ian Poulter, can produce viral videos that can appeal to a wider demographic who follow similar lifestyles as Fowler and Poulter. Perhaps having a video, similar to the one below, that the three of them on top of a building and making trick shots using the ProV1 golf ball. Again, the idea is to leverage James Gribble's ability to manipulate a golf ball, not that he is on a motorized wheel chair. 

Regardless on which method Titleist will use, the emphasis is on James Gribble’s athletic ability not in how he overcame or how inspirational it is to perform such a feat. By incorporating an athlete with impairments in a golf company that has a strong following, improvements on the perception on disabled athletes can be improved.

Reference

DePauw, K. & Gavron, S. (2005). Disability Sport. Champagne, IL: Human Kinetics.

Harig, B. (2014). Olympic-sized questions about golf. ESPN. Retrieved 27th March, 2014. http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/10464853/olympic-sized-questions-golf.

Hardin, B., & Hardin, M. (2003). Conformity and conflict: Wheelchair athletes discuss sport media. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 20(3), 246-259.

Hargreaves, J. & Hardin, B. (2009). Women wheelchair athletes: Competing against media stereotypes. Disability Studies Quarterly, 29(2).

Keipert, S. (2014). James Gribble hasn’t let quadriplegia stop him from playing the game he loves, and now he wants more disabled people to find their feet again through golf. Golf Australia. February, 76-81, retrieved March 29, 2014 from the

http://www.empowergolf.com.au/resources/GolfAustMagFebArticle.pdf.

Palan, S. (2013). Quadriplegic golfer JaPalames Gribble finishes rehabilitation, plays from wheelchair. ABC News . Retrieved 29th March 2014. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-30/quadraplegic-golfer-james-gribble-plays-from-wheelchair/4788310.

Purdue, D. & Howe, P. (2012). See the sport, not the disability: Exploring the Paralympic paradox. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health. 4(2), 189-205.

The Puffin Magic Foundation (2014) About Puffin Magic Foundation. Available:http://www.puffinmagic.org.au/pg.php?pgid=2 Retrieved 29th March, 2014.

Henry, R. & Shapiro, D. (Director). (2005). Murderball [Motion picture]. United States: Thinkfilm.