The Disabled Athlete “Does” have an Unfair Advantage

1185 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Cause and effect of sports injuries essay

The article, "The Disabled Athlete has an Unfair Advantage," by Amby Burfoot, is a poorly written, research deficient article, in need of accurate, unbiased supporting facts. The article is written about Oscar Pistorius a double below knee amputee that competed but failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, after a lengthy court case. (Robinson) This unsatisfactorily written article has merit to the opinion, however, the author sounded as if he was a first time writer for a school newspaper. The facts used in the paper seem as if they were researched by asking someone who knows, someone who knows someone who is an amputee. Writing with this apparent ignorance, and recklessness can only lead to a larger divide between the two sides of the argument. The author Amby Burfoot is an editor-at large, and the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon; states his argument the same as an elderly person afraid of change. The facts are not supported, ignorant selection of words, and at times out of touch tone is the wrong way to try to argue for what could be considered by some a sensitive subject. The fact that women and men are already placed into separate categories for events, and that there are Paralympics for amputees to compete in, completely passes the author by and he spends the article poorly stating that stumps with springs are cheating because "Pistorius does not need to train harder in order to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, he just needs a better set of equipment."(Burfoot)

All Athletes use equipment of some sort to give them some sort of advantage or to become even with the rest of the field. Mr. Burfoot states that, "Pistorius does not need to train harder in order to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, he just needs a be...

... middle of paper ...

...on to the track are unfortunate. Being a former Boston Marathon winner Mr. Burfoot must be an expert on running, that being said, having a sister with an amputation and winning a marathon does not make you an expert on amputation running.

Works Cited

Burfoot, Amby. "The Disabled Athlete Has an Unfair Advantage." Footloose: Amby Burfoot's Notes from the Road (24 June 2007). Rpt. in The Olympics. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. General Onefile. Web.

"Can Prosthetics Give Double-amputee’s Advantage Over Able-bodied Runners?" Newsday [Melville, NY] 15 July 2007. General OneFile. Web.

"Long jump." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web.

Robinson, Joshua. "Prosthetics Gave Runner Unfair Edge, Report Says." New York Times 19 Nov. 2009: B13(L). Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.

Show More
Related

  • The Importance Of Prosthetics In Sports

    1731 Words  | 4 Pages

    Butryn believes, the challenge that is issued is whether an athlete 's ability has a dramatic change in his performance due to technology. I believe that technology should not give an athlete more ability than a regular athlete because at that point it becomes unfair to both competitors. Trivino states, “The sports practiced by athletes who have had organs or mechanical parts implanted and their desire to take part in regular athletic competitions puts sports authorities in an ethical and legal tight spot” (118). Trivino believes Authorities are put into an ethical and legal tight spot because there must be a line drawn. A line that clearly states what is and isn 't allowed to be able to take part in regular athletic competitions. I believe it becomes unfair and too much of an advantage for the athlete to use in competition. According to Trivino, “The cyberization of sport has occupied a role in medical and sport fields in recent years due to the fact that this issue calls into question the very foundations of contemporary sport,

    Read More

  • Literature - Jane Martins "Rodeo"

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the last several years, it has become undeniable that any kind of sport can, and will, be sensationalized and commercialized by the people from the great companies like “Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, and Marlboro” (1667). These companies have hundreds of thousands of dollars budgeted each year to pour into sports in the form of sponsorships, advertising, etc. Once the sponsorships are introduced into a sport, it is exactly the kind of thing that will push an athlete out of competition. An athlete will find himself in a “make-it or break-it” situation. If an athlete receives a sponsorship, then the money is free flowing for equipment, testing, training, etc – anything that the athlete wants or needs to aid in putting him...

    Read More

  • William Peace Speech

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Special Olympics date back all the way to the year 1968. Many see these Games as a time to honor someone who is able to “overcome” a task, but author William Peace sees this as an insulting portrayal of people with disabilities. Peace is a multidisciplinary school teacher and scholar that uses a wheel chair and writes about the science behind disabilities and handicaps. As a physically handicapped individual, Peace is able to observe a negative portrayal of disabled persons. In his article titled, “Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability, and Adaptive Sports,” William Peace offers his own personal insight, utilizes several statistics regarding handicaps, as well as numerous rhetorical appeals in order to communicate to the “common man”

    Read More

  • man and superman

    1233 Words  | 3 Pages

    An essay “Man and Superman: In athletic competitions, what qualifies as a sporting chance?” by Malcolm Gladwell is attempted to answer an issue “Do genetic advantages make sports unfair?” The essay contains two arguments: human biological diversity makes sports unfair, and, consequently, as human attempts to equalise all the players as considered a moral obligation, the sports industry has no problem with athletes’ self-transformation while doping athletes is prohibited which, in his opinion, they should be justified just like those self-transformations. Gladwell also criticises the sports industry who is actually a culprit of this fairness, they try to level the playing by measuring that no one has an advantage over others but the consequence is a catalyst of science intervention.

    Read More

  • Memorial Scholarship Research Paper

    296 Words  | 1 Pages

    In 1972, when East Stroudsburg University Athletic Trainer Lois Wagner handed a freshman a roll of tape, she didn’t think she was making history(smith). She saw a student athlete who displayed the ability to tape ankles. Freshman Marsha Grant-Ford didn’t think they were breaking down barriers. But several years later, she

    Read More

  • Own the Podium

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    High performance sport in Canada is seen to ameliorate our nation’s identity, unity and pride. Increasing these aspects does not come freely, athletes and the staff around them must be funded properly to help Canada train and prepare for high performance sports. The most well respected high performance sport venue in today’s society is the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This paper is intends to acknowledge the contributions of Own the Podium as one of Canada’s largest sport organizations for high performance sport. Own the Podium helps fund high performance Canadian athletes for the Olympics and Paralympics. The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader how Own the Podium is assisting in many key areas in Canada’s sport system. Also, this paper will state the very detailed vision and mission statements from Own the Podium made for Canada’s high performance athletes and the goals in mind for the future Olympic games. Specific indications on how Own the Podium has a direct impact on this broad topic of high performance sport, how they intend to carry out their goals and their dedication towards these athletes and future athletes. This multi-sport organization is the backbone of the hopeful success of Canadian athletes in the highest regarded sport spectacle; the Olympic games.

    Read More

  • Politics of Muscle

    394 Words  | 1 Pages

    “The Politics of Muscle” by Gloria Steinem is an essay arguing the difference in strength between men and women. Steinem starts her essay by stating how she grew up in a generation where women didn’t participate in a lot, if any, sport activities. She goes on to say that she believes this is the reason why women of her generation believe that it’s not what the female body does, but how it looks. Steinem feels that women always seemed to be owned in some degree as the means of reproduction. She believes that women are made to feel ashamed of their strength and that “only when women rebel against patriarchal standards does female muscle become more accepted.” (pg 372)

    Read More

  • Shayne Stedman Character Analysis

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Early in my time at Griswold High School, there happened to be a sprinter that competed on the girl's track team. She was an all-around athlete and had the potential to be extremely successful in both the sprinting and jumping events. During her junior year, her performances in both practices and the meets began to decline rapidly. Shayne Stedman, who was the girl’s coach at the time, came to me and voiced his confusion over how to handle this. After determining that there was nothing physically or medically wrong with the girl, we began to seek an alternative solution. Over the next few weeks her performances continued to plummet, and with it, so did her confidence. With about a month to go in the season, she finally informed us that she and

    Read More

  • Essay On Figure Skating

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are a variety of sports anyone can play and teams people can join that accommodate to someone's specific needs whether they be handicapped or just want to play a sport to lose weight. Despite the lack of tangible obstacles stopping one sex from being athletic certain sports tend to be characterized as being a games only for women or men. There are accommodations in practically every popular sport for any person to play nevertheless societal pressures stop women from becoming race car drivers and men from becoming ballerinas. Those who go against the norm may find themselves being ridiculed; boys who play wrongly-named feminine sports are generally seen as frail no matter how physically demanding the sport they play is. Although figure

    Read More

  • Banning Amputees Essay

    493 Words  | 1 Pages

    In 2008, Oscar Pistorius had been banned from the Olympics due to his prosthetics. Through intense research the IAAF had claimed that they had found data that pointed toward Oscar having an advantage with his prosthetic limb. His advantage would breach one of the qualifying rules which is that an athlete may not use any device that gives them an advantage. However the CAS had ruled that the data the IAAF found was inconclusive and the disqualification of Pistorius was uncalled for (Chappell). Ethics of banning amputees from the Olympics has arisen due this controversy. The ADA protects all amputees from unfair exclusion and “The Practice and Compliance Manual” identifies effective rules and procedures in admitting new athletes. Yet, forcing

    Read More

  • Essay On Prosthetic Limbs

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today’s prosthetics are lighter and more realistic looking, using rubber and plastic covers (Norton). Prosthetic limbs are now able to imitate realistic function easier, and perform physical activities (Norton) (Baird). With the help of physical therapy, the users can run and even ski when using advanced prosthetic limbs. By focusing on reducing the friction and improving gait in a prosthetic, comfort of a patient is increased tremendously (Marshall). Newer and more intricate limbs are more comfortable and

    Read More

  • Understanding the Disabled

    1223 Words  | 3 Pages

    While these three authors have different reasons to write their essays, be it media unfairness, ignorance, or ethical disputes, they all share a basic principle: The disabled are not viewed by the public as “normal people,” and they are unfairly cast away from the public eye. The disabled have the same capacity to love, desire and hurt as any other human being, and deserve all of the rights and privileges that we can offer them. They should be able to enter the same buildings, have representation in the media, and certainly be allowed the right to live.

    Read More

  • Disabled Athletes Research Paper

    489 Words  | 1 Pages

    There are many opportunities for athletes who are disabled is many ways. They can also find different commodities to help them,for example, modified wheel chairs or other medical products can aid athletes in competing. There for with the right tools disabled athletes can compete in sports. Also some sport can be adapted ti fit a disabled person better, not to give them an advantage but to put it on a even ground for others who are not disabled. This keeps the game balanced and give opportunities for disabled athletes.

    Read More

  • The Paralympic Games

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every four years the Summer Olympic and Paralympic games combine to become the largest single sporting movement on the globe. The combination of these sporting events is characterized by a complex and contradictory relationship (Paralympic Sport: Are We Equal Yet, 2010). The Paralympics are intended as a parallel event to the Olympics and it is a relationship that often makes the Paralympics seen as nothing more than a "side show" to the Summer Olympics. These aspects in the relationship between the two events often introduces the question about whether it is in the best interests of the Paralympian athletes. This also brings rise of concern to the factors of the Summer Paralympics that reinforce concepts that are way outdated about the abilities, status and place of athletes with disabilities in the sport society.

    Read More

  • Rights of Disabled Individuals in Sporting Competitions

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Athletes with disabilities should be able to participate in sporting event and in the Olympics if they qualify. In the case of Oscar Pistorious he was originally banned to participate in the Olympics because of supposed unfair advantages of the blade runner. The blade runners themselves have been around for several years now. You do not see disabled athletes such as Pistorius breaking any 400-meter dash records. People make these “cheetah legs” out to be this type of technology that lets a human run faster. Moreover, various research done on the blades were only on possible advantages that Pistorus had, not any of the disadvantages they put him it. As aforementioned, if disabled were breaking world, records or even coming close to them it would be one thing, but they are not. Therefore, the disabled have the right to compete in direct sporting competition.

    Read More

More about The Disabled Athlete “Does” have an Unfair Advantage

Open Document