Carson Briére apologizes for damaging wheelchair after 'disturbing video' surfaces

Mercyhurst Lakers center Carson Briére just went viral for all the wrong reasons. (AP Photo)

“It might seem like nothing more than immature, drunken behaviour, but what Briere and his friends did is a frightening example of complete disregard for the humanity of disabled people,” Emily Ladau told Yahoo Sports Canada. “As a wheelchair user, even when I'm not physically sitting in it, I consider my chair an extension of my body. Damaging my wheelchair means you're disrespecting me and taking away my freedom of movement. The issue here isn't just damaged property or bad choices; it's that ableism, privilege, and entitlement are on full display.”
-Ian Kennedy, Yahoo Sports

This story about Carson Briére, student athlete at Mercyhurst University and son of Philadelphia Flyers interim GM Daniel Briére, is beyond disturbing. Not only is the ableism and entitlement on full display, so is the complete disregard for autonomy. Wheelchairs are expensive medical equipment costing thousands of dollars and can take upward of a year to obtain depending on fitting, measurements, insurance denials, etc.

I've watched this video several times in disbelief. I was shaking with fear not only for the user whose wheelchair was so callously disrespected, but also with the stark reminder that this could have happened to me. This is a nightmare for every wheelchair user who has been forced to navigate inaccessible environments.

Emily is right. Our medical equipment be it a wheelchair, a cane, a scooter, or a service dog like Canine Companions® Pico are extensions of us and our body. Through that lens, this is beyond the destruction of property. This is assault. Briére's actions have caused a loss of bodily autonomy that may take months to regain along with the financial and emotional impact.

The laws have not caught up yet, however.

This experience highlights so many injustices; inaccessibility, ableism, privilege, entitlement and a lack of empathy and understanding around disability.

#disabilityawareness #disabilityrights #disability #medicalequipment #sports #hockey #flyers

How The Twitter Layoffs Affect The Disability Community

The Twitter Logo with the quote “Twitter can not become the de facto Town Square Musk envisions at the expense of the accessibility that once made it great.” Attributed to Ryan Honick

If users want to emphasize how important the continued prioritization of accessibility actually is, we need to lean into one of the best parts about Twitter: how easy it makes it to amplify a cause.
-Alexa Heinrich, Adweek

For many disabled activists, Twitter has long been a place to connect, amplify, and create change. I owe much to a platform that allowed all of that to happen. Conversations with one-time virtual strangers turned into lifelong friends and allies, virtually and otherwise. The platform was never perfect, and detractors abound, but advocacy always faces pushback. Still, Twitter served as an important space where many found community and support as well as a direct line to key influencers; from journalists and brands to celebrities. Twitter was the first social network where it seemed accessibility was its foundation—in more ways than one.

Prior to layoffs, The Accessibility Experience Team was working on myriad projects focused on improving the user experience. For folks with visual disabilities, the team revamped its icons and automated reminders for the use of alt-text. The deaf community saw improvements with captions, and for those with sensory sensitivities Twitter updated its app sounds.

Unfortunately, all of that progress is poised to stop as Musk looks for ways to improve profitability following a number of high-profile advertisers rethinking their relationship with the platform. Companies including General Mills, Oreo company maker Mondelēz International and Pfizer Inc., have temporarily paused their Twitter advertising, according to The Wall Street Journal.

That pressure, coming from groups like Color Of Change, Free Press, the Anti-Defamation League, and GLAAD is the result of Musk haphazardly cutting teams dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.

“We are witnessing the real-time destruction of one of the world’s most powerful communications systems,” Nicole Gill director of Accountable Tech told MarketWatch.

Sandra Sucher, a professor of management at Harvard University, told The New York Times Twitter’s cuts were among the most poorly handled that she had seen.

Speaking at an investment conference in New York Friday, Musk said: “Our goal is with Twitter, how do we get 80% of the public to join a digital town square and voice their opinion and exchange ideas and once in a while change their mind?”

With his latest actions, Musk is deliberately leaving out the 20% of the population with disabilities, setting Twitter up to become yet another inaccessible space where disabled people find ourselves unwelcome. Twitter can not become the de facto Town Square Musk envisions at the expense of the accessibility that once made it great.