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Common sense suffers another loss (Republican American)
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"The Waterbury Connecticut Republican American Newspaper"
The best sports story of the year was when an autistic kid came off the bench to score 20 points for his high school team.
Jason McElwain was a team manager who dressed out for the final home game. With four minutes left and his team way ahead, Jason went in, made six three-pointers and became a national sensation.
His story is being made into a movie. He met George W. Bush.
"Honored to meet you," Jason said.
"No," the president said, "it's my honor."
What makes the story so great is Jason didn't want any special treatment. Remember that as we plow into the latest news from the equality front.
A federal judge in Maryland granted a temporary injunction last week that allows a wheelchair athlete to compete with other runners. Tatyana McFadden was born with spina bifida. Anybody with half a heart would say she deserves special treatment. You want her to have every chance to participate and enjoy sports like every other kid.
If only it were that simple.
This is the latest example of good intentions overwhelming logic. Before you fire off that "You hate disabled people" e-mail, please hear me out. Better yet, hear an expert who can sum them up in two words.
"Slippery slope," Julie Weatherly said.
She's an Atlanta attorney who specializes in disability law. Business really picked up in 2001 after the Supreme Court ruled Casey Martin's circulatory disease entitled him to use a golf cart.
It wasn't long before a swimmer missing half a leg was threatening to sue if his Georgia school system refused to let him use a modified fin. A kid with a heart condition sued to be allowed to play basketball. A Texas girl in a wheelchair sued to get on the cheerleading team. A blind kid sued because he wasn't
