NORRISTOWN – President Obama’s comment last evening (March 19) on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” was disappointing. While we know the President did not intend any harm by his comment, words do matter and his comments reflect an underlying misunderstanding of what Special Olympics is really about.
In his short time in office, the President has been very supportive of Special Olympics. He sent a Presidential Delegation to the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho led by Vice President Joe Biden. The delegation also included the Secretary of Education and his new Special Assistant for Disability Policy, Kareem Dale. President Obama is the first President in our nation’s history to appoint someone specifically to deal with disability issues. So, while President Obama is already a fan of the Special Olympics movement, his recent remark should give all of us pause to consider our words more carefully.
Special Olympics provides sports training and competition opportunities to children and adults with intellectual disabilities in more than 180 countries around the world; Special Olympics Pennsylvania serves more than 18,000 athletes in every corner of the state. But, Special Olympics is much more than that…the Special Olympics Movement transforms communities by inspiring people to open their minds, to accept and include people with intellectual disabilities…recognizing and respecting the similarities we all share.
The best way to understand Special Olympics and truly appreciate our athletes and their abilities is to become a fan – coach a local team, play on a Unified Sports team (Unified teams combine athletes with and without intellectual disabilities), volunteer at an event, or simply come out and cheer for our athletes at a local competition. We have more than 300 competitions around the state each year. Regardless of how or where you get involved, you’ll witness amazing displays of courage, determination, and joy!
We can all learn something from this situation. First, we should look at this as an opportunity to reflect personally. How many people listening to the President’s comments last evening automatically took those words to imply poor performance by all athletes with intellectual disabilities? Not only does that perpetuate a harmful stereotype, it’s just plain wrong! We welcome athletes of all ability levels, and some of our athletes deliver amazing, world-class performances.
Second, we should use this as an opportunity in our schools, homes, and communities to begin a constructive dialog about changing this mindset. An easy way to begin is by joining Special Olympics in a campaign to end use of the “R-word.” We need to replace the word “retard” in our vocabulary with the word “respect.” Visit here to join this effort today!
If you’re a fan of dignity and respect…you’re already a fan of Special Olympics!
