Reds' batboy with Down's Syndrome

A friend of mine posted this clip from ESPN to his facebook page today, about Ted Kremer, a 30-year old man with Down's Syndrome who is a batboy for the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds crushed the Marlins, which made Ted the honorary batboy quite happy, as the clip shows quite well.

This brings up so many of the issues we have been discussing in class lately. On the positive side, here's a man with Down's Syndrome who is clearly a huge fan of the Reds, and in this case his disability is affording him a privilege he likely would not otherwise have had, even if he had no disability. It is obvious that he is having a wonderful time and loves his job.

But then the announcer talks. He calls Kremer a "kid," they show a few clips of Kremer hugging players, then finishes by saying "this is what's good about sports." To be fair, sports announcers often call players "kids," though it seems worse when they just told us that Kremer was 30 years old. Also, while I appreciate the sentiment that Kremer has been given a lifetime opportunity and is clearly enjoying the fruits of his fandom, the patronizing attitude taken by the announcer is troublesome if also typical. Sports seems to be the primary aspect of our culture in which we easily recognize that a person with developmental disabilities often cannot perform at the same level as the best athletes, yet we use that disability for moments of collective empathy. For better or worse, we seem to have established sports as an appropriate avenue for socially acceptable condescension in the name of empathy. But maybe that's okay? My feelings on this matter are often mixed.

EDIT: Here's a link to an article about the same game. It has some of the same attitudes expressed in the video, but in a more positive light.