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Wheelchair on the field
We had a rules meeting tonight, and the ASA state UIC told us that if somebody wants to bat, field, or coach in a wheelchair, we have to permit the person to do so. Otherwise, we'll be getting a call from a lawyer, etc.
I'm wondering (1) how we can go along with that if we feel the presence of F3 in a wheelchair is unsafe, and (2) how we deal with somebody who is obviously not disabled but insists on using a wheelchair anyway (just to be a jerk). Not that I think this is ever going to happen, but there are a lot of things going on today that I never thought I'd see. |
Even before the UIC told you that, this has been in the rule book for sometime. So it's not something new. And not only does the rule cover both offensive and defensive players and coaches, it applies to umpires, too!
I've never had it come up, so I'm just going by what's in the book (R/S #55 and rule 4-2). My reading is that it is mandated to comply with the American Disabilities Act. There is also a stipulation that it applies to players that meet the ADA's definition of "physically challenged". That probably precludes somebody trying this "just for the fun of it". |
Thanks, BretMan. Yeah, I see that now. That section has been expanded since I last read it, which was long ago.
So who gets sued when somebody breaks his neck after falling over the wheelchair? |
Lemme check my "things to worry about as an umpire" list..
yep, there it is! I found it! Right there below remembering to throw away those old line up cards that get stuffed into various pockets of your equipment bag.. "Worry about a kid suing me after getting injured on a softball field tripping over a wheel chair." Ok, now that I'm done with that one, let me move up the worry list a few steps... where did I put those bicep pads I never wear and will never wear that came with my chest protector???? hmmm |
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The wheelchair has a legal right to be there. The softball organization has a legal duty to comply with the ADA. Barring some willfull intent to cause harm by the chair user, maybe nobody gets sued. If the chair is there by the mandate of Federal legislation, whose "fault" is it that it's there? |
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ASA 3-6-E: Quote:
To quote a famous movie character, "Don't let's be silly." |
Is a wheel chair a "cast", "splint", "brace" or "protheses" that is "worn"?
The way I'm reading this is that those devices are subject to some umpire discretion. Wheel chairs are not, by the guidelines of rule 4-2 and R/S #55. I'm not trying to be silly, but sometimes when a Federal mandate butts heads with common sense, you wind up with a big heaping pile of "silly"! :rolleyes: |
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There is nothing special about a wheelchair among the other devices used by people with disabilities, except that it is large and relatively immobile (compared, for example, with a cast or prosthesis). And, there are a huge variety of wheelchair designs, some specifically designed for athletes to use. Saying that wheelchairs MUST be allowed is as silly as saying they WILL NOT be allowed. The umpire judgment on safety and changing the nature of the game is the deciding factor in each situation. |
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It seems to me there is a big difference in the areas that the rule says are the pervue of umpire judgment (the fundamental nature of the game and significant risk to the safety of players) between a coach in a wheelchair and an infielder in a wheelchair. The OP was musing about an infielder, F3, in his "what if".
How could F3 in a wheelchair NOT be a safety hazard on a pick off attempt? |
Most of these posts sound like a player in a wheel chair is going to be able to play at a level of any player.
There are some amazing wheelchair athletes, but there is no way a wheelchair athlete can compete with able body teams. Is F3 going to just hang by 1B waiting for a pick off play? Even if she would, am I the only one who is going to see OBS on every pick off play? |
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All compelling arguments to not allow a wheelchair on the field.
So why put a Rules Supplement in the book that specifically says, "Under the American Disability Act...wheelchairs are allowed on the playing field. Players while batting, running bases or playing defense, coaches in coaching boxes and umpires behind the plate or on the bases may use wheelchairs."? I can't come away from that with anything other than "wheelchairs are allowed". This guideline seems to say that the "judgment" has already been made for us and is out of the umpire's hands. Or, is the interpretation: "Wheelchairs are allowed (wink, wink)...unless the umpire says they're not allowed...and nobody in their right mind is going to allow them...(so they're really not allowed)." :confused: |
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Just like myself. I have an unlisted phone number, yet it is published in certain locations. However, the person looking for it would have to know where to look which isn't necessarily general knowledge. But I have put it out there, so if someone gets a hold of it, that is my fault, not the person who finds it. Then again, what is simple and sensable in real life has no standing in the legal community where some questions asked with the expectation of a response wouldn't cut the mustard in a third grade social studies class. |
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