Ableism in Sport - Casey Martin v PGA Tour

This week, we discussed the practices of ableism in a sporting context. Per the textbook, ableism is "an ideology that assumes the world should be tailored to those without disabilities." We then also discussed the case of Casey Martin v. PGA Tour, which was an example of a professional sports league discriminating against someone with a disability. Casey Martin had a serious medical condition that caused major difficulty for him to walk. Martin requested to use a golf cart as a reasonable accommodation, but the PGA Tour had a rule that players must walk. Long story short, Martin won his court case, which forced the PGA Tour to allow him to use a golf cart.

As someone who went through childhood with a chronic illness, the notion that sports, or the world, should be tailored to those without disabilities is something I strongly disagree with. I also feel that the criteria to be considered "able-bodied" can be argued as well. In Martin's case, I would argue that he was able-bodied. He had no limitation on the act of golfing. He had a limitation on the act of walking. I know the act of walking has been argued to be a fundamental aspect of golfing, but my stance is that walking is not golfing, and golfing is not walking! You walk TO golf, and the golf cart for a participant with a serious medical condition is a very reasonable accommodation.


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