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Casey Martin
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Casey Martin is in a similar predicament. He has a congenital circulatory disorder called Klippel-Trenauunay-Weber syndrome which reduces the flow of blood to his right lower leg. This makes it painful for him to walk and eventually may require amputation. While Martin has yet to qualify to play on the PGA tour, everyone concedes that he will in the coming year. He actually won his first professional tournament on the Nike tour last year. It was here in the "minor leagues" of golf and at Stanford where he was initially granted exemptions for the use of a cart because everyone knew he could play the game.
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Casey Martin (born June 2, 1972 in Eugene, Oregon) is an American professional golfer. He still resides in Eugene. He was educated at Stanford University, and was briefly a teammate of Tiger Woods. He was three times all Pac-10 and was a member of the University's NCAA-champion 1994 team. He turned pro in 1995.
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Ever since he was a young boy, Casey Martin has played sports - and played them well. He eventually focused his energies on golf, and won 17 junior golf titles in his home state of Oregon. He ... earned a scholarship to Stanford University, where he and his teammates Tiger Woods and Notay Begay won the 1994 NCAA golf championship.
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For those of you who do not know the details, Casey Martin has disorder that permits him from walking the length of a golf course. He asked the PGA tour to allow him to use a cart. They refused, so he sued them. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mr. Martin and granted him the use of a cart.
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The eventual outcome of the Casey Martin story may define the future of athletes with disabilities. The Paralympic movement has already begun to take steps towards proposed integration with the Olympics while other sports are becoming more diversified every year. Not only have racial barriers been broken in almost every sport but gender barriers as well with the development of women's professional basketball and a gold-medal winning women's hockey team. Likewise, the NCAA is under considerable pressure to allow equal access and opportunities for athletic participation. In this respect Casey Martin's case may act as a precedent for non-competitive related rule changes which would provide greater access to qualified athletes. Clearly the next challenge is on appeal and eventually may reach the Supreme Court where the applicability of "reasonable accommodation" and the ADA apply to athletic employment.
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The ruling by the Supreme Court in the Casey Martin case appreciates the difference between fairness and the perfunctory application of rules. Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens noted that when Congress passed the ADA, lawmakers intended that sponsoring organizations "carefully weigh" the effect of their rules on people with disabilities. The PGA Tour's "refusal to consider Martin's personal circumstances in deciding whether to accommodate his disability runs counter to the clear language and purpose" of the ADA, Justice Stevens wrote in his opinion for the court. The PGA Tour will now be required to carefully consider the effect their rules have on Casey Martin and on other individuals with disabilities that are qualified to compete on the PGA Tour.
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Casey Martin