Cheating or Not?

What is cheating? Merriam-Webster's Dictionary describes "cheating" as "to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud" (Merriam-Webster). But why? Why do people do this? Some people may argue that the act of cheating, whether it is on an exam, in a game, or in a sport, can get you ahead and make you the winner. Cheating is something that people do to get ahead of others and it puts them at an advantage compared to everyone else, until they get caught. 

Watching the video, "The Greatest Paralympic Scandal of All Time" made by Austin McConnell really had me in shock and I was flabbergasted at how there are actual people who would commit an act of cheating, especially in the Paralympic Games. In the summer of 2000, the Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia and to say there was cheating is an understatement. Spain's Men's Basketball Intellectual Disability team was the source of this scandal. The team consisted of 12 players in which 10 of them were faking an intellectual disability. The video mentioned they needed to have an IQ test score below 75 and those 10 players faked their test scores in order to get on the team. In addition, they also forged their medical forms from an outside source. As the games went on, they won the gold medal and once the newspaper clipping got out into the media, the public started commenting and saying that they knew some of the players and that they were not disabled. This resulted in returning the gold medal and the head of the Spanish Sports Federation for people with intellectual disabilities, Fernando Martin Vicente, was found guilty of fraud and forgery and fined 5,400 euros. It was mentioned that these 10 players robbed the people with actual disabilities who were seriously battling real mental disabilities of receiving the gold medal and a chance of winning (Austin McConnell, 2017).

As for adaptive technology, take wheelchairs for example, I believe it is important to have advanced technology for reasons that the wheelchair is able to tip over so the way that the wheelchairs are made is inclined, that way the weight is distributed evenly. For swimming, gear such as goggles helps a swimmer's performance by making it longer in chlorinated pools. People with visual impairments are able to have a guide while running to ensure that the competition is done fairly (Bantjes and Swartz, 2022). But what happens when there are countries that cannot afford this type of technology. The answer to that question is not fair and something that you may not like to hear. "We found that high income countries, such as the US, Sweden and Norway, were 3.4 times more likely to participate in the championships compared with low or middle income countries like South Africa and India" (Bantjes and Swartz, 2022). This statistic shows how higher income countries are more likely to win championships as opposed to lower income countries. This also shows that fewer participants are getting involved in the games since adaptive technology is getting very expensive as they advance in society. After researching and learning about this information, I do believe that adaptive technology should be allowed in sports only if it is available to all countries, no matter what income level they are. I think that everyone should have a fair chance at participating and since these athletes are training to be the best, then they should be rewarded with the best equipment to complete these competitions and bring home the Gold for their country.

The graph above further proves that as time goes on, higher income countries have several more participants in the Summer Paralympics than lower and middle income countries.

More information about adaptive technology in different level income countries can be found here: Technology in the Paralympics

In my opinion, I think that the Olympics are made for able-bodied people and the Paralympics are made for individuals with disabilities. Although athletes competing in the Paralympics using technology such as a running blade are thought by some people to be able to participate with able-bodied athletes, I think that people with disabilities, and who are using technology, should only be able to participate in the Paralympics - that is why these games were made - so that they could be included and compete against one another who battle with the same disabilities that they do.

References

Bantjes, J., & Swartz Distinguished Professor, L. (2022, October 12). The odds are stacked against athletes from poor countries in Paralympic sport. The Conversation. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://theconversation.com/the-odds-are-stacked-against-athletes-from-poor-countries-in-paralympic-sport-70345 

McConnell, A. (2017, September 9). The greatest paralympic scandal of All time. YouTube. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5F_ha7d-PI 

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Cheat definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cheat