pers and broadcasters across the United States had brought into the mainstream of national consciousness a discussion that had previously been taking place at Boy Scout jamborees and in Brownie troops, among recreation professionals and camp directors, and on the soccer and baseball fields of cities and towns across America. The nub of the discussion was this: If we are no longer excluding kids with disabilities from the activities enjoyed by their more typically developing peers, then what new obligations do we take on in order to make a place for them? It was paradoxical that Martin was the person who brought this issue into the public arena. Up to this point, Martin's had been an American success story, his physical impairment a footnote that had neither handicapped his learning nor sidelined him from his favorite sport. He attended Stanford, one of the premier universities in the country, and there he met all academic expectations while captaining the golf team to an NCAA championship in 1994. However, Klippel-Trénaunay-Weber syndrome was an adversary that would never be defeated. It caused the blood flowing to his right leg to pool and throb, and the leg to swell. It required him to use pain medication daily and to wrap the leg in support hose all day and night, removing the wrap only when he showered ( Blauvelt, "Golfer Rides Out Storm"). He was able to achieve success while at Stanford because the decision makers in collegiate golf allowed him to use a motorized cart at times when he needed it. The Professional Golf Association declined to oblige him in similar fashion, and his condition was worsening. At age 25, when he realized he could not continue walking the course in pain, it was to the ADA, passed in 1990, that Casey Martin was able to turn for legal redress. Ab- sent accommodations for his disability, he would be unable to use his gifts and pursue his aspirations. He would have to forfeit his career. CALIFORNIA BOY WANTED TO PLAY BASEBALL The encounter between Casey Martin and a young fan illustrated that it was only Martin's visibility, owing to his professional-level talent, that made his circumstances exceptional. His desire to be a full-fledged participant resonated not only with Will Ard but also with tens of thou- sands of other youngsters across the country with physical, medical, emotional, or mental impairments. Unfortunately, the resistance that Martin confronted when he sought permission to ride the golf course in a cart was also familiar to -2- |