Team USA finished with 36 gold medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, good for third most. Photo courtesy of USA Today. 

DAVID JACOBS | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | drjacobs@butler.edu 

Overtime, or “OT”, is an opinion column series where the Collegian takes national sports headlines or polarizing topics and gives them a Butler-centric angle.

The Paralympics took place in Paris from Aug. 28 through Sept. 8. However, if your only source of sports media is an Instagram or X feed, chances are you had no idea. 

ESPN had just five Instagram posts on their account related to the Paralympics from start to finish of the games, while they had a whopping 444 during the span of the Olympic games. Although the US Open, NFL preseason and first weekend of college football took place amidst the events, there is no reason not to give the Paralympics a proper amount of coverage.  

ESPN holds such a powerful and meaningful role in sports media — specifically with its short-form content —  and yet fails to do its due diligence of equitable coverage as the “World Wide Leader in Sports.” 

Granted, ESPN does not hold the rights to any footage from the Paralympics, but the same issue did not stop them from providing sufficient coverage of the Olympics in July. Furthermore, that does not give a reason for NBC to withhold the majority of their coverage behind a paywall on Peacock. 

Sophomore sports media major A.J. Marcinko is a fan of the Olympics and thinks better marketing and proper social media coverage are all the Paralympics need to increase interest. 

“I understand that it does not get the same amount of views as the Olympics,” Marcinko said.  “But still, what these athletes are doing is incredible.” 

This is not the first time ESPN has failed with its equitable coverage. For years it lacked proper coverage of women’s sports before public demand suddenly switched after the likes of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese pushed it into the national spotlight. With the uproar for change, women’s sports — specifically basketball — have gotten a chance to shine in the spotlight, and now it is time to do the same for these Paralympians. 

Allison McElroy, a senior elementary education major with a limb difference, is a supporter of the Paralympics and was upset when she experienced the lack of coverage. 

“It is disappointing because [ESPN] is doing better this year than I think I ever had seen in the past,” McElroy said. “One part of it is the [timing], I really enjoy watching the Paralympics, but I’ve barely watched because I was busy with school starting and everything. With ESPN, I feel like people are still learning a lot about how [the Paralympics] are the same level of achievement and they are still the world’s best athletes.” 

While not a Para-athlete herself, McElroy still takes pride in her physical differences.

“I was born with a congenital birth defect called proximal femoral focal deficiency,” McElroy said. “I got my first [prosthetic] when I was like 18 months old, so I learned to walk on it. [However], I have never been super sporty, it has nothing to do with my disability, just how I am. The only thing I really do is hand cycling, it has three wheels and instead of pedals has handlebars that move, but I’ve been able to go on bike rides with my family and all those things.” 

Sophomore secondary education major Ali Gasior participates in both the Best Buddies and Special Olympics clubs at Butler, which bring awareness to individuals with neurological disabilities, and takes pride in her advocacy for celebrating people for who they are.

“I would say I watched [the Paralympics] a fair amount,” Gasior said. “Especially when it pops up for me [on TikTok or Instagram], but there should definitely be more [coverage] of it since it is a longer event. I know with the football season starting, [those games] are getting a lot of focus, but [the Paralympics] are for a good cause, showcasing athletes with differences.” 

One thing often brought up with the Paralympics is its relation to the Special Olympics. While both provide athletes with differing abilities the opportunity to compete, the two are separate entities and focus on different types of disabilities. The Paralympics focus on physical disabilities, while Special Olympics focus on intellectual disabilities. 

Jack Schilling, a senior finance and marketing double major, is the president of Best Buddies on campus and is involved in the Butler Special Olympics as well. Schilling is a firm believer in equality within the Paralympic field.

“I do not think [the Paralympics and Olympics] should be conjoined by any means,” Schilling said. “[The Paralympians] have their respective fields and they should have more attention on them, because, why not? There is no difference between the two of us, people forget they’re the same [as everybody else].”

A leading factor of the coverage discrepancies? The Olympics are being blasted onto social feeds and TV. The Paralympics — although carried by the same provider NBC — is subject to a primarily digital-only viewing experience rather than streaming on their typical TV channels like they offered for the Olympics. 

“Everything comes back to money and views,” Marcinko said. “[Over the summer], I used Peacock for all the Olympic games and never really watched on the main channels, but [the lack of national coverage] is frustrating as somebody who wants to watch these sports.”

The lack of coverage should not be for a lack of interest either. The Paralympics offer the same — albeit varied — core sports as the Olympics, with the addition of goal ball and boccia. Goalball is exclusively for blind athletes and can most similarly be compared to Olympic handball, but there is no designated counterpart for the sport. As for boccia, it is very similar to the classic backyard game of bocce ball. 

These Paralympians are often just as fast, athletic and coordinated as their able-bodied Olympian counterparts. In terms of viewing interest, there should be no reason not to promote the same counterpart sports being played.

Same city, same sports. The only difference is the athletes are in wheelchairs, have blindfolds or are competing with — or without — prosthetic limbs. As a society, we have four years to improve the coverage for these Paralympians. Here is to a better promoted and more media-equitable Paralympics at Los Angeles 2028.