Blog #5 - Media

Sofia Torrie

Dr. Sowers

GSS-2117-001 Disability and Sports

27 February 2026



    I think that to increase the media coverage of the Paralympics and other disabled sports is to change the narrative of what they are doing and why. Many media outlets paint disabled athletes out to be heroes, supercrips, and that is the narrative that people will see and side with. To increase the media coverage of the Paralympics and other disabled sports, media outlets should showcase that these athletes do the same amount of work, and they’re doing it the same as the able-bodied athletes, because they want to and they love what they do. Their disabilities do not put a stop to them and what they do, and they want to prove themselves that they can do exactly what they plan on doing, competing in the highest level of athleticism. Paralympics and other disabled sports should also receive the same amount of promotion as the Olympic Games do, as well as other able-bodied sports. When it comes to the Olympic Games, we are seeing the promotion for it everywhere. Whether it is interviews with the athletes or commercials for the games, we are seeing it constantly. When the Paralympics come around, we are seeing less media for it, giving them an unfair advantage. An Extra Boost: Why Media Coverage is Important for the Paralympic Games. In this article, we see how the media gives the Paralympics less coverage and how it affects the Paralympics as well as other disabled sports. 





The media should also address the issue of those with disabilities being portrayed by the media as “villains, supercrips, or helpless.” The way that the media portrays these athletes is not very positive to the work that they put in. The way the media words things and explains things can not always be positive, and even though the journalists may not realize it, they are feeding into the narrative of the athletes being “supercrips.” "It Should Just be About Sport!": Exploring Italian Athletes' Perspectives in Paralympic Media Coverage. In this article, we see how the media portrays the athletes and how their way of representing them can be negative and feeding into the negativity of the athletes and how they are doing these things because they want to be pitied, or show that they are pushing the need for charity. 





Overall, the media has the power to change the narrative against these athletes by being mindful of the language they are using while covering these events. The way that they speak about the athletes during the games makes a huge impact on how the viewers will think of these events and their stories, and it can change the negative narrative by being educated on these events and the athletes and why they are doing it.



Resources:

“An Extra Boost: Why Media Coverage Is Important for the Paralympic Games.” UBC News, 16 Aug. 2024, news.ubc.ca/2024/08/media-coverage-is-important-for-the-paralympics/#:~:text=Some%20reasons%20for%20the%20lack%20of%20media,just%20like%20they%20do%20with%20able%2Dbodied%20athletes. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.

Pappous, Athanasios Sakis, and Pablo Gómez-Iniesta. “‘it Should Just Be about Sport!’: Exploring Italian Athletes’ Perspectives in Paralympic Media Coverage.” Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 22 Aug. 2025, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12411545/#:~:text=Firstly%2C%20the%20%E2%80%9Csupercrip%E2%80%9D%20or,for%20others%E2%80%9D%20(5). Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.

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