Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Legally Blind Athlete Sues Triathlon Groups

Story first appeared on CNN.

A legally blind athlete is suing three triathlon groups over a rule that makes him and other vision-impaired runners wear blackout glasses -- leaving them temporarily sightless -- in a controversial effort to level the playing field.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by a 30-year-old athlete, who says the rule violates the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Having a legally blind person compete in the running portion of a triathlon with blackout glasses poses substantial danger to not only the competitor but those around them, say Royal Oak Civil Rights Lawyers.

It is illegal to require the athlete to wear blackout glasses that no able-bodied person would have to wear as a condition of receiving reasonable accommodation in a triathlon.

The complaint names USA Triathlon and The International Triathlon Union, both governing bodies for triathlons, and 3-D Racing, an organizer and sponsor.

The glasses, which thrust wearers into darkness, have been required for sight-challenged athletes running in triathlons overseen by the defendants since 2010.

USA Triathlon is discriminating against legally blind competitors, stripping them of their dignity and depriving them of their ability to participate in the athletic activity they love, says the lawyer (who is also blind).

Arguing the policy makes no sense, stating that triathlons forbid athletes from wearing headphones because the devices reduce awareness of surroundings, endangering others.

The plaintiff has about 20% of his vision. He has been losing sight since he was 9 because of Stargardt's disease, which his website calls the most common form of inherited juvenile macular degeneration. The ailment has significantly impaired his central vision, and he sees mostly in blurs aside from some peripheral sight. The plaintiff is also a physical therapist with a doctorate in the field.

The agencies state that the rule exists to create a fairer competition for all athletes because partially blind athletes and completely blind athletes compete in the same category, and partially blind athletes have an advantage over those who are completely blind, the International Triathlon Union said in a statement to CNN.com, adding that the glasses must be worn only during the running portion, not in the swimming or biking events.

ITU says it is designing a new classification system for disabled athletes and the elimination of the blackout glasses rule was proposed for 2012 but couldn't be done without that rule already in place.

ITU is committed to having the new system ready by 2013, which will result in a full revision of the ITU competition rules, said the Vancouver, British Columbia-based group, which is the triathlon world governing body for more than 140 affiliated national federations worldwide, including USA Triathlon.

Scheidies says ITU and USA Triathlon have made promises on this before and he doubts change will come anytime soon.

During a practice run, the plaintiff tried running with a guide wearing the blackout glasses. He recalls that he managed to hit his head on a pole, fall into a ditch and run off the road several times within a 2 minute time frame.

After last year's New York City Triathlon, where he wore the blackout glasses in accordance with the rule, he plaintiff said that he apologized to several others for running into them.

The plaintiff says he doesn't buy the argument that the blackout glasses level the playing field between runners who have some sight and those who have none. He says he has proposed workarounds, including winner groups based on level of sight.  There is a huge difference between individuals who are used to being in total darkness, versus those who have "some" sight and can guide by differences in light and dark. Placing a person with partial sight into complete darkness just invites clumsiness and the potential for accidents.

Another idea he's put forward is to adjust running times, something akin to a sports handicap. His efforts to get a visually impaired person on rule-making committees have been rebuffed.

People who have chosen not to wear the blackout glasses have been disqualified from races for not following regulations. He says he has been trying to work with triathlon organizers since the rule was enacted and held a protest with 30 other blind people in August in New York.

The plaintiff, who has completed the Ironman Triathlon, which includes a 2.4 mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2 mile marathon, registered for Detroit's Motor City Triathlon on June 17. He says he will not take part if required to wear the glasses.


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