ABSTRACT
Disability sport programs, events, and organizations have grown rapidly since the first organized competition, the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948, yet Paralympic-style sport has struggled to find an audience. People without physical disabilities often perceive people with physical disabilities as incompetent. In societies where there is more acceptance of people with physical disabilities, there still may be feelings of discomfort, fear, or rejection regarding people with physical disabilities. The media is regarded as one of the most influential structures in forming and developing the perceptions, opinions, and attitudes of the public. Media serve as an intermediary between the end user and the information or knowledge being transmitted. The most dominant narrative surrounding disability sport and its athletes is one of the supercrip. Priming has a significant impact on the ways in which viewers watch Paralympic-style sport, their reasons for wanting to watch more of it, and their attitudes toward people with disabilities.
