Should CSUSOP Consider if TSOASA Has Disabled USA Tennis Deaflympians?
WDTC Update
Should the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics (CSUSOP) Consider Finding if the 1998 Federal Law, Ted Stevens Olympic, and Amateur Sports Act (TSOASA), Has Weakened the USA Tennis Deaflympians in Collecting Medals in the Deaflympics?
Is it a joke?
No, as a long-time Team Leader of the USA Deaflympic Tennis Team since 1977, I have shown the below list of how many medals USA tennis players who are deaf and hard of hearing collected in the following Deaflympics for your observation:
1978 - Enactment of the Amateur Sports Act
1981 - Six (4 Golds, 1 Silver, and 1 Bronze)
1985 - Nine (4 Golds, 3 Silvers, and 2 Bronzes)
1989 - Four (2 Silvers, and 2 Bronze)
1993 - Six (1 Gold, 1 Silver, and 4 Bronze)
1997 - Five (2 Golds, 2 Silvers, and 1 Bronze)
1998 - Enactment of the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act
2001 - Zero
2005 - Zero
2009 - Zero
2013 - Two (1 Gold and 1 Silver - Thanks to the Hangstefer Tennis Siblings)
2017 - Zero
2022 - Zero
“The U.S. Olympic committee only financially supports the Olympic and Paralympic athletes,” said Daniel Hangstefer in 2013. “The U.S. is one of the few countries that does not financially support deaf athletes. Many other countries do, which automatically puts the U.S. at a disadvantage when it comes to Deaflympics.”
Daniel Hangstefer, a 2013 Silver Medalist who currently is an Associate Head Coach of the Boise State Men's Tennis Team, referred that, in 1998, Congress amended the Amateur Sports Act to recognize the Paralympics only, but not the Deaflympics.
Now, it is my turn to explain.
Look at the 1985 result. The 1985 USA-World Games for the Deaf had a two-week training at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO, before flying to Los Angeles to participate in the World Games for the Deaf (WGD) (renamed to the Deaflympics in 2001.)
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is currently no longer accepting any request to use the training center. Still, the National Governing Body of the USOPC family must approve this request.
The Austrian Deaf Sports Association (ADSA) won the bid to host the 2003 Edition of the Dresse Cup for Deaf Men and Maere Cup for Deaf Women (patterned after the Davis Cup and the Wightman Cup.) Still, the Austrian government denied the ADSA’s request for a grant to run the tennis event because of the weird names of these tennis cups. So, the ADSA requested the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf to change the name to the “World Deaf Team Tennis Championships.” Suddenly, the government agreed to award the heartly grant.
Meanwhile, the USA tennis team abruptly canceled the trip to Austria six months before the Tennis Cups because the USO[P]C stopped distributing the development fund to the USA Deaf Sports Federation.
Now, imagine that the USOPC has still refused to recognize the Deaflympics, which was approved by the International Olympic Committee in 2001 (22 years ago.)
Although [Deaflympian Emily] Wilson has been reaching out to several companies who are interested in sponsoring her, they have never heard of the Deaflympics. She has identified the problem as being a lack of awareness surrounding the Deaflympics and its absence in mainstream media. [Distance Runner Emily Wilson to compete in 2022 Deaflympics.]
Please double-check 36 U.S.C. § 220503(13) [United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee]
(13) to encourage and provide assistance to amateur athletic programs and competition for amateur athletes with disabilities, including, where feasible, the expansion of opportunities for meaningful participation by such amateur athletes in programs of athletic competition for able-bodied amateur athletes;
THEREFORE, it is crystal clear that Congress must amend the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act to recognize the Deaflympics since an athlete who is deaf and hard of hearing is “an individual is disabled within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. (Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12102(1))” by CSUSOP Co-Chair Dionne Koller’s excellent work, “The Increasing Role of Disability Issues in U.S. Sports Law.”
The Commission will complete its study on September 30, with a final report to be delivered to Congress in the spring of 2024.
Update on the World Deaf Tennis Championships
South Korean Duckhee Lee advanced to the Quarterfinal after beating Cedric Kaufmann of Germany, 6-2, 6-4, and Andrew Giuffrida of U.S.A., 6-0, 6-0. [Lee is mentioned in my previous newsletter.]
The USA Men's doubles team consisting of Giuffrida and Alfredo Galvez won over India’s No. 2 team, 6-1, 6-2, and advanced to the quarterfinal.
The second USA man, Galvez, lost his first-round single match against British’s Esah Hayat, but he got ready to play in the consolation.
