Ableism & Accessibility in Sport with Susan Lacke (Episode 9)

This week on [un]phased, Shaunna and Lisa are joined by author, professor, and endurance athlete Dr. Susan Lacke. Susan is a much-loved contributor to numerous endurance sport platforms including Triathlete, Women’s Running, and Outside magazines. Susan is also deaf, and is a fierce advocate for accessibility in sport.

In this episode, Susan, Shaunna and Lisa discuss ableism in endurance sport, and how our societies have created the perception able-bodied people are “normal.” In the sporting world, most events are created with only the able-bodied athlete in mind, but as Susan explains, we have to start redefining our perception of what an athlete looks, sounds, or acts like. Athletes come in all shapes, sizes, and levels of physical and cognitive ability. Accessibility for all should be embedded in the design of every sporting event or race. However, as Susan explains, this is far from the current reality in endurance sport.

As the Social Model of Disability explains, it is actually the environment a person is in that disables them, not the different abilities they have. As organizers and advocates in the endurance sport space, we must start to dismantle the system that has disadvantaged athletes who do not fit the preconceived idea of a “normal” athlete. We must also examine how we can rebuild the endurance sport ecosystem with accessibility and universal design as central frameworks.

Follow Susan’s running adventures on Instagram @placesmyruntakesme

Buy Susan’s books Running Outside the Comfort Zone and Life’s Too Short To Go So F*cking Slow on her website at www.susanlacke.com, and find some of her additional work here:

Triathlete Magazine: https://www.triathlete.com/culture/how-to-make-triathlon-more-accessible-for-athletes-with-disabilities/
SUCCESS Magazine: https://www.success.com/being-deaf-doesnt-define-me/
NBC Think: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/keeping-people-safe-covid-19-limits-deaf-people-s-access-ncna1207371

Email us at info@unphasedpodcast.com with your questions or to let us know how your micro allyship journey is going.

Some other helpful resources on Accessibility in Sport:

https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2016/09/14/say-disabled-person-instead-person-disabilities/

I am Disabled: On Identity-First Versus People-First Language

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/20/17791354/products-people-disabilities-sock-slider-banana-slicer-lazy