Perceptions of Athletes in Disabled and Non-Disabled Sport Contexts: A Descriptive Qualitative Research Study

The term supercrip suggests extraordinary feats but is sometimes applied to any proficiency demonstrated by an athlete with a disability. This use of the term potentially undermines spectator appreciation for achievements of the upper echelon of disability sports participants. Prior disability sport researchers have suggested that a comparison of individuals' perceptions of athletic heroes with and without disabilities has potential to help disability sport marketers counter the supercrip stereotype. The purpose of this research was to explore differences in perceptions by comparing participant descriptions of role models with and without disabilities. Research participants, who consisted of undergraduate students at a large southwestern university, viewed video recorded scenarios of athletes with and without disabilities and participated in focus group interviews. Our findings supported those of prior researchers who suggested that participants were most likely to describe relatable circumstances as inspiring. Our participants also critiqued the depth of the stories presented in the scenarios based on their prior exposure to disability narratives. Disability sport marketers might benefit from emphasizing multiple elements of athletes' backgrounds to appeal to potential consumers. Marketers should also consider that consumers might have developed preexisting expectations about style of presentation of athlete interest stories. Keywords: Disability Sport, Sport Marketing, Focus Groups, Qualitative Research, Descriptive Research The term supercrip has been used to describe media depictions of individuals with disabilities who achieve impressive feats (Shapiro, 1994) although often these feats would be considered typical for persons without disabilities (Hardin & Hardin, 2004). Cherney, Lindemann, and Hardin (2015) described the supercrip as an individual who "accomplishes what is generally seen as the "impossible" in light of the individual's bodily limitations" (p. 7). According to Silva and Howe (2012), "social expectations are so low for individuals with a disability that any positive action may induce praise from others" (p. 175). However, Cherney et al. asserted that much prior supercrip research has "stagnated to the point of merely reproducing evidence" (p. 8) of the prevalence of the stereotype in media, therefore, a meaningful approach to supercrip research, that might reveal alternative ways to frame athletes with disabilities, is to compare this stereotype with "the hero stereotype that pervades coverage of nondisabled athletes" (p. 8). This purpose of this research study, designed in response to this recommendation, was to explore the impact of disability on perception of elite athletes, by comparing qualitative differences in participants' responses to video scenarios featuring athletes with and without disabilities. A secondary aim of this research was to provide recommendations for marketers of disability sporting events to broaden the reach of these events. To provide a specific framework for this comparison, we chose to use concept of inspiration due to the frequent association of inspiration with disability sport (e.g., Berger, 2008; Boyce, 2015; De Jong, 2010; Hardin & Hardin, 2004; Mano, 2006). The specific research questions we addressed were: (1) How do participants describe the inspirational potential of athletes with or without disabilities and (2) How do participants describe accomplishments of athletes with or without disabilities? Background Perceptions of Disability and Sport Perceptions of people with disabilities vary based on the type of disability and the experiences and education level of those making judgments. Negative attitudes have been identified in both those who provide services for individuals with disabilities and those who have disabilities (Antonak & Livneh, 2000). However, athletes with disabilities comprise a subgroup that might be viewed in a more positive way (Silva & Howe, 2012). …