Podcast blurb: Sport and events remain entrenched in ableist (non-disabled as norm) practices which continue marginlize those with disabilities. Consider, for example, the structure of sport venues where a person who uses a wheelchair is required to sit separately from other spectators or athletes. No other marginalized group would or should be asked to accept such overt and unambiguous exclusion. My research focuses on sport events can be catalytic opportunities to integrate disability rights through an emphasis on inclusion, access and opportunity for persons with disabilities in all aspects of the event – from bidding, to delivery, to legacy for spectators and participants. Using a critical lens, I seek to unpack how various forms of ableism may limit the potential of sport events and highlight the ways in which events can/should foreground a disability rights approach to the benefit of all event participants.

Laura’s bio: Dr. Laura Misener is a Professor in the School of Kinesiology at Western University (London, Ontario, Canada). Her research focuses on how sport and events can be used as instruments of social change, with an emphasis how sport for persons with a disability can positively impact community accessibility and social inclusion. Her research program is interdisciplinary in nature and pushes the traditional boundaries of sport management to emphasize the importance of critical scholarship for advancing, safe, ethical sporting and event practices. She also serves as a research and policy advisor to a number of disability sport organizations focused on broadening the role of sport in postive social outcomes.

Further reading and resources:

Misener, L., McPherson, G., McGillivray, D., & Legg, D. (2018). Leveraging disability sport events: Impacts, promises, and possibilities. Routledge.

Understanding Everyday Ableism: Holland Bloorview

News Source on Disability Sports: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/disability-sport

Hodges, C. E., Jackson, D., Scullion, R., Thompson, S., & Molesworth, M. (2014). Tracking changes in everyday experiences of disability and disability sport within the context of the 2012 London Paralympics.

Leveraging Parasport Events for Sustainable Community Participation. By L. Misener. Sport Information Resource Centre.

Paralympians still don’t get the kind of media attention they deserve as elite athletes. By E. Pearson and L. Misener. (2021) The Conversation.