USOPM Has Yet To Be Accredited By The American Alliance of Museums
Reading the news that the Hall of the Great Plains of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City closed two halls exhibiting Native American objects last week gave me a flashback.
FLASHBACK: On November 15, 2021, I had a face-to-face meeting with the Interim CEO and Vice President, Athlete Engagement of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum (USOPM) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to discuss the problems on the exhibit booth about the federal Amateur Sports Act of 1978 (ASA).
Read the USOPM errors explained in “On the trail of display errors at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum,” published two months after the November meeting.
Toward the completion of the meeting, they told me that the Museum was not certified. I replied, “Certification?” They reasoned that (1) it was too new since it was opened one year earlier (July 30, 2020), and (2) there was too low attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They added that the ASA errors must be corrected before applying for an acceleration. I thanked them for explaining.
Click on the official USOPM website.
Three days ago, I wondered if the USOPM got accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), so I explored its website.
You can find the USOPM in the AAM’s accreditation status for the museums.
I typed “Olympic” in its search box, and there were three hits:
U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum
Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum
Olympic Sculpture Park (Seattle, Washington)
USOPM shows no red box (Accredited Museum), but it is one of 5436 institutions having the Pledge Of Excellence.
Confused? Me, too, but I suggest you read its Accreditation & Excellence Programs to understand more.
Back to the American Museum of Natural History’s problems: This NYC museum has to return Indigenous remains to comply with the 30-year-old Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Nay, the USOPM does not have any human remains. Still, I am telling you that the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum has no memorable or similar artifacts related to the Deaflympics.
The AAM requires that the museum “should strive to be inclusive and offer opportunities for diverse participation.”
“The Deaflympics has been around for almost 90 years, and it's a LEGITIMATE, global tournament with an opening ceremony, medals, and drug testing,” said Lindsey Dolich (Felt), a one-time Deaflympian soccer player, in the 2008 interview with Deadspin (a sports blog.)
The USOPM location is Colorado Springs, the home of the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind (CSDB), which produced about 20 Deaflympians. This city has approximately 2,500 deaf residents.
However, the USOPM has displayed photos of two deaf Olympians, Jeff Float and Rebecca “Becca” Meyers.
But the USOPM has yet to mention that Jeff collected ten medals in the 1977 World Games for the Deaf (renamed to Deaflympics in 2001) and then became the first legally deaf athlete from the United States to win an Olympic gold medal by earning it in men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay in the 1984 Olympics.
The Museum also failed to mention that, at 14, Becca earned the first-ever international medal – a bronze medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay in the 2009 Deaflympics. Then she, as a Paralympian, collected six medals in two Paralympics (2012 and 2016) and received the Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award twice (2015 and 2017.)
Read what the USOPM wrote a story, “Swimmer Becca Meyers found her happy place in the pool.” There was no mention of the “Deaflympics” and her receiving the Sportswoman of the Year award from the USA Deaf Sports Federation twice (2011 and 2012).
Final Question
Could the USOPM get accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums without displaying any item related to the Deaflympics?
My answer is YES! The reason is that the United States Olympic and Paralympics Committee (USOPC) has yet to recognize “Deaflympics” and support the Deaflympians since the enactment of the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act of 1998.
However, the USOPM could only add the Deaflympics if Congress included them in the abovementioned Act.
We, the forgotten Deaflympians, are waiting to know if the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics (CSUSOP) would recommend that the Deaflympics be included in the United States Olympic and Paralympics Committee program. [Note: The CSUSOP will submit its final report to Congress this spring.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INTERESTING LINKS (and more photos)
At the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum, All Athletes Are Equal (October 21, 2020) (New York Times) (Subscribed)
The U.S. Has Its First Museum Dedicated to the Olympics and Paralympics (August 3, 2020) (Conde Nast Traveller)
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum: A triumph of tech and inclusiveness. (Unknown date) (Panasonic)
U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum. (Unknown date) (Gallagher & Associates)
A built manifestation and celebration of the stories and accomplishments of American Olympians and Paralympians. (Unknown date) (Anderson Mason Dale Architects)
A Champion in Accessible Design, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum Opens in Colorado Springs (July 30, 2020) (Smithsonian Magazine)
Colorado Springs Olympic Museum has inspiration in its bones. (July 25, 2019) (Colorado Springs Gazette)
Miracle on Ice's scoreboard will live in Colorado Springs. (April 17, 2019) (Colorado Springs Gazette)