are you watching the paralympics?
plus, links!
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I hope you’re enjoying the Paralympics, which people in the U.S. can stream on Peacock the same way they were able to stream the Olympics. I have two pieces published this week about the Games.
For Them, I highlighted 20+ LGBTQ+ athletes to watch at the Paralympics in Paris. These Games are setting a record for the largest number of out athletes competing.
At POPSUGAR, I wrote about what happens if you're not deemed "disabled enough" for the Paralympics:
Disability advocates and para athletes believe that the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) needs to overhaul the way they classify certain kinds of athletes. As it currently stands, there are many conditions that are automatically excluded from qualification and many of the athletes who are impacted have less visible disabilities, or disabling conditions that are much harder to pin down when it comes to their cause. Some advocates say that this is due to deeply ingrained ableism within the IPC, as well as a desire to cater to the able-bodied gaze in order to market parasports as something that a mainstream audience wants to watch.
In non-Paralympic news, the trailer for The Herricanes documentary premiered on the TODAY Show this week! The film follows the Houston team of the National Women’s Football League and I appear as a talking head on the history of the league. This month is the 50th anniversary of the NWFL, and if you haven’t read mine and Lyndsey D’Arcangelo’s book on the league, Hail Mary, you should get on that! The Herricanes will be in select theaters in October. Watch the trailer:
And ICYMI, I interviewed Shireen Ahmed of CBC Sports about her career:
Some reading for your weekend:
Over at
, examined why the Paralympics lags behind when it comes to gender parity.- wrote about Fadi Aldeeb, the only Palestinian Paralympian in Paris. Aldeeb became paralyzed in 2001 after being shot in the back by an Israeli sniper: “I'm not playing for myself, I am here for 11 million Palestinians inside of Palestine and outside of Palestine,” he said. “I am here to raise the flag of Palestine here in Paris … and to give the message we are still here. We are still alive. We are still asking about freedom and we still need the same human rights.”
The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) Congress held a vote last week about whether their international federation would call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The vote took place at the Ultimate World Championship in Gold Coast, Australia. The resolution failed to pass, with 38 national federations voting for it, 47 voting against, and 31 abstaining.
Natasha Cloud released a new photoshoot and partnership with the women’s boxer brand, Woxer (more from me on this later this week).
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