The Impact of Sports within the Deaf Community.

David Stewart gives detailed explanations of how Deaf sports impact the Deaf community starting with descriptions of what it means to be Deaf, what areas of Deaf community life have been and will continue to be enriched due to the presence of Deaf sports, and how Deaf sports can pave the way for social equity between hearing and Deaf people. A basic overview of the Deaf community is presented, followed by the idea that Deaf people's identities and perspectives are based on hundreds of years of culture that hearing society does not typically endorse or understand. Stewart defines Deaf sports as a “...social institution within which Deaf people exercise their right to self-determination through organization, competition, and socialization surrounding Deaf sport activities...a microcosm of the Deaf community” (p. 2).

“Deaf sport emphasizes the honor of being Deaf, whereas society tends to focus on the adversity of deafness” (p. 1). Hearing society sees being deaf as a disability, but Deaf society strongly says otherwise. Deaf people see themselves as a linguistic minority, fully capable of living complete, fulfilling lives. This perception of deafness being a disability causes problems between Deaf and hearing groups because of the underlying inequality fueled by the idea that the inability to hear hinders “normal” lifestyles. The barriers between Deaf and hearing people that start from birth or school-years and continue on throughout the lives of Deaf individuals can be broken down by Deaf sports because with sports come opportunities to clearly show the quality of life that Deaf people are fully capable of living. History has not only shown that Deaf persons are capable of mastering and enjoying sports, but by planning and holding sporting events and activities they prove that some of them have exceptional leadership and organizational abilities.


Stewart categorizes Deaf sports into three dimensions or spheres: social, psychological, and educational. Bringing Deaf individuals together for socialization is one of the most prominent purposes for Deaf sports since Deaf people are usually thinly spread throughout large geographical areas and tend to spend much of their time around hearing people who do not sign or share their cultural values. “...the nature of Deaf sport is to promote the interaction of Deaf individuals among themselves” (p. 198). Deaf sports encourage psychological health in Deaf people by presenting them with “...access to a social support system.” This support system is necessary for healthy personal development in that it helps maintain a sense of identification or belonging in a group and allows Deaf people to keep each other informed of Deaf-friendly people and organizations that they could be involved with such as job, school, and recreational opportunities. Sports have educational value for the Deaf in that they provide opportunities for Deaf people to come together for a common activity as the participants learn to work together toward a common goal. Stewart continues to break down these three categories of Deaf sports to explore their depth and give more detailed explanations of the influences that they have on the Deaf community. Sports offer a common ground for virtually every ethnic and social group in America, and around the world, Deaf society is no exception. “ ' “Sports teams representing factories, schools, neighborhoods, cities, or nations-each pursuing victory-provide an important source of identification for individuals in American society” ' “ (p.88).

Sports allow for socialization within and between Deaf and hearing cultural groups because the athletes', coaches', administrators', and fans' thirst for victory, achievement, and enjoyment overshadows many previously held assumptions and differences and focuses on the similarities between the two groups. Because of Deaf sports teams and organizations accomplishments, hearing people are able to see Deaf people's ability to achieve goals and live life with the mentality that being Deaf is not a disability, but is simply different from being hearing. Even with the wide variety of Deaf sports, one can see that the purpose of each is directly linked to the expansion, nurturing, and advancement of the Deaf community and its members. In Stewart's words “Deaf sport is a microcosm of the Deaf community,” (p. 2). and being a major source of identification for Deaf individual's in America, anything relating to the Deaf community should never be overlooked or ignored, but should be allowed to thrive. Deaf society's ability to grow in social, psychological, physical, and educational ways through self-run and founded sports groups is evidence for the inadequacy of the label of 'disabled' and shows the completeness that can be attained by Deaf people that many hearing people do not understand, and the fulfilling life that any Deaf individual has the ability to lead.

Copyright Karen Getz 2007