ABSTRACT
According to DePauw and Gavron (1995), athletes with physical, mental and emotional disabilities have historically been subject to disenfranchisement and exclusion in sport. This state of affairs is hardly surprising given that Western societies have traditionally portrayed individuals with disabilities in terms of their ‘deficits’ and as ‘victims’ in need of support, and protection from their able-bodied counterparts (Ballard 1993; DePauw 2000). In the context of sport, Nixon (1984: 184) argues that such discourses have resulted in many people, such as coaches, finding it particularly difficult to associate individuals with disabilities with ‘vigorous activity or demanding roles’.
