Have you watched the Olympics this summer? If you have, you would know that the US Basketball teams, both men and women, won gold again, continuing their legendary dynasty. You would also know that the US women’s volleyball team won gold in a monumental win against Brazil. You would also know that the United States had a total of thirty gold, silver, and bronze medals in just swimming events alone. But did you know that the US men’s wheelchair basketball also won gold and that the women’s sitting volleyball also won gold in the Paralympics? Everyone knows the names Kevin Durant, Katie Ledecky, and Alison Felix, but how many know the names Brian Bell, Jess Long, and Anastasia Pagonis? The simple answer is not many. I didn’t even know the Paralympics were an event until a few months ago, and in hindsight, I feel ashamed of myself for not knowing about it. But it’s not just me; media coverage and the general hype around the Paralympics just doesn’t compare to the Olympics, hinting at the fact that the world doesn’t take it as seriously. If there is anything to prove that statement, it’s most definitely the biggest scandal of all of Paralympic history: the 2000s men’s Spanish basketball team. We have heard of Olympic scandals, many from Russia and some from normal athletes such as Marion Jones and Ben Johnson. But by far the biggest one of them all is Spain’s infamous scandal in the event of intellectual disability men’s basketball. Spain won gold that year, soaring higher than any other team, but here’s the thing: 10 out of 12 (83% of the team) were not disabled. Not one, not two, but a shocking ten. They were in completely good condition and had faked their disability, but they still went home with a gold medal. Of course, the gold medal didn’t stay in their hands for long – all because of one clever man: Carlos Ribagodra. This man, a reporter for Capital Magazine, went undercover as one of the non-disabled athletes and backstabbed the Spanish federation (McConnel 2017). After the final game, he had sent his gold medal, team kit, as well as 150 pounds he was given back to the Paralympic headquarters. He worked with the Spanish team for two whole years and attended the five month training period prior to the Paralympics. He mentioned that even during the training – there weren’t any disabled people in sight with the exception of two men. So ten players, ten men, ten totally able-bodied people somehow swallowed their guilt every day for 730 days and lived with that impenetrable weight on their shoulders, keeping this dishonorable truth hidden from the rest of the world. Carlos even said, “I think people saw it as a free trip to Australia” (Fitzsimmons 2020), but by the end of it, the attitude about it changed from pride to shame. But first, you may ask, how is this all possible? This is a global event, surely there must have been some carefully articulated scheme that the Spanish Federation planned. Nope. They simply took advantage of the ineffective tests that all athletes were required to take. Ribagodra mentioned that the only health test he ever had to take was six push-ups and a blood pressure test (McConnell 2017). Usually, to pass the paralympic tests, an intellectual disability player had to score below a 75 (McConnell 2017). So it seems that the most likely explanation is that these ten players had purposely scored low enough so they could be qualified to compete. Even more surprisingly, some players even testified saying that they had to take no test at all! However, it’s not as though they completely fooled everyone and that nobody even batted an eye. All the other teams were growing suspicious at Spain’s unbelievably high scores. During the gold medal match at halftime, Spain was up by thirty points, so much so that the coach had even told them to chill out to make it seem more realistic (McConnell 2017). By the time the players were standing on the podium with the national anthem playing, the weight of their sins had started to weigh on them, and the guilt was starting to seep in at last. It seemed that no one wanted to talk about it. Crowds rejoiced at the moment, hands up high and with pride in their eyes. But soon enough, the truth broke out, and the country was filled with shame and disappointment. The chairman of the Spanish Federation, Fernando Martin Vicente, bravely denied the accusation, but in a court decision after a decade of investigation, he was found guilty and forced to pay loads of fines. The saddest part is that Fernando had a son who was disabled and because the Spanish federation was so heavily funded by the government, he was trying to get more funds from the government, so he could build a better future for his son and many others like him, thus the incentive to cheat (Bonetta et al. 2020). But still, it’s contradictory, considering he stole the opportunity from other honest athletes competing at the Paralympics. It totally backfired. It took an even worse toll, as ALL intellectually disabled athletes were banned from the Paralympics for 12 whole years. Because of the ill choices of this man and ten other players, hundreds of innocent athletes were penalized. Many athletes said that they felt angry. Among them, an Australian athlete named Siobahn Paton, who said that she fell into depression and said, “ I didn’t want to look at my gold medals. I did something very great, and I felt like it was taken away” (Bamford 2020). Stupid decision or not, I won’t say, but it was unjust for sure. Especially because those ten athletes who had cheated, lied, and stolen from honest men and women got away with zero charges. Sports, as we all know and as an athlete myself, is a very respectable activity; it’s all-inclusive where nothing matters but your skill and ability. It brings people together in ways that are magical. Disrespecting something so beautiful is nothing but a mortal sin. Fast forward to 2021, there are still multiple problems with the Paralympics. Sure it’s not a history changing scandal, but many athletes point out that the selection for impairment categories seems unfair. As swimmer Theo Curin, a 21-year-old athlete with both hands amputated, points out, “Two people who swim with both their hands appeared in my S5 category. You don’t have to be very smart to understand that having two hands in swimming helps a lot.” (Anonymous 2021). The problem is that disabilities are very complicated and are unique to each person, making it hard to categorize each athlete which leads to a convoluted system. The point is we have got a long way to go, but no matter how complicated it is, these athletes deserve a just, fair, and grand event hosted in honor of them. Hopefully, Paris 2024 succeeds in doing so.
Sources:
Fitzsimons, Billi. “In 2000, the Spanish basketball team won gold at the Paralympics. But they didn’t have a disability.” Mamma Mia, 22 Nov. 2020, How the Spanish basketball Paralympic team 2000 cheated. (mamamia.com.au) Accessed 25 Sept. 2021.
Bamford, Matt. “Sydney Paralympians relive Spanish basketball cheating scandal. ABC Radio Sydney.” ABC, 26 Oct. 2020, Sydney Paralympians relive Spanish basketball cheating scandal – ABC News Accessed 25 Sept. 2021.
Anonymous. Paralympic Games 2021: Cheat scandal as impairment rules slammed. Herald Sun, 26 Sept. 2021, Paralympic Games 2021: Cheat scandal as impairment rules slammed | Herald Sun Accessed 25 Sept. 2021.
McConnell, Austin. The Greatest Paralympic Scandal of All Time. Youtube. 9 Sept. 2017, The Greatest Paralympic Scandal of All Time – YouTube
Bonetta, Rachel. Fruchbom, Rachna. Full Court Shame (2000 Spanish Paralympic Basketball Scandal). In Solidarity (with Atlanta Dream’s Elizabeth Williams) Accessed 25 Sept. 2021.
