The official Paralympics TikTok account sparked a debate with a series of videos that some have interpreted as mocking disabled athletes.
Next Wednesday (August 28), the Paralympic Games will kick off in Paris, France, showcasing the talents of athletes with physical disabilities and intellectual impairments from around the world.
In the days leading up to the competition, the official TikTok account uploaded several videos using humor to promote The Games.
A series of videos uploaded by the official Paralympics TikTok account has sparked conversation online, with some critics arguing that the clips make fun of athletes
Image credits: Paralympic Games
One of the clips shows an armless swimmer hitting his head against the end of a swimming pool. The background music accompanying the clip is Finding Nemo’s Dory singing, “Just keep swimming.”
A separate video of a women’s Wheelchair Basketball game captures a Team GB player accidentally hitting one of her teammates with the ball, making her fall off her wheelchair. The player quickly gets up and laughs at the accident.
The 2024 Paralympic Games, which will kick off in Paris on August 28, will showcase the talents of physically disabled and intellectually impaired athletes from around the world
Another clip shows Brad Snyder, a fully blind Triathlon athlete from Team USA, reaching his arms forward to search for his bike, which he grabs thanks to the help of his guide,
Greg Billington. The TikTok account’s admin added piano background music as the athlete’s hand motions resembled those of a man playing the instrument.
“Para Triathlon is swim, bike, and air piano,” the caption reads.
The Paralympics’ social media team chose a light-hearted, comedic approach to promote the competition
@paralympicsPara Triathlon is swim, bike and air piano. 🎹♬ original sound – paralympics
@paralympicsScream if you wanna throw further.♬ squirrels – <3
The videos, which highlight the athletes‘ disabilities with a comedic tone, have generated a wide range of reactions online, from bewilderment to outrage and praise.
“You didn’t have to do him like that,” a critic commented, referring to Snyder’s video.
“Are the athletes in on the joke? All I see from this account is making fun of them, to be honest,” a separate user said.
“These athletes deserve so much more respect and to be recognized for their hard work,” somebody else chimed in.
The clips focus on some of the athletes’ bloopers using funny background music
@paralympicsSometimes maybe good…♬ original sound – paralympics
@paralympicsBig steppa 😮💨♬ original sound – paralympics
@paralympicsIt’s all in the finish 💥♬ original sound – paralympics
Meanwhile, others approved of the content creator’s approach. “This account is unhinged, and I love it,” one commenter wrote.
“I think it’s better to see them as normal athletes, using humor, but never pity,” an additional user agreed, while another exclaimed, “The social media team deserves a medal.”
According to IPC (International Paralympic Committee) Communications Officer Craig Spence, the Paralympics account is managed by 2008 Paralympian Richard Fox from Great Britain, who played Football 7-a-side in Beijing, China.
Silver medalist Matt Stutzman, known as the Armless Archer, says he uses humor to make others feel more comfortable around him
Spence considers the videos to be far from offensive. In fact, he says they mirror the sense of humor of Para athletes and how they perceive their disabilities.
“If you speak to Paralympians, they’ve got a great sense of humor. They’re not wrapped up in cotton wool and protected from society,” he said, as per WZZM.
“They like to laugh about themselves. Like we all do, and that’s why we’ve tried to be really edgy on the Paralympic TikTok account.”
On the Paralympics YouTube channel, athletes promote the upcoming Games using a light-hearted tone. One of the videos shows Matt Stutzman, a Paralympic silver medalist known as the Armless Archer, driving a car next to fellow USA countryman Chuck Aoki, a wheelchair rugby player.
Stutzman maneuvers the vehicle with his legs, using his left on the pedals and his right on the steering wheel.
“Is this your first time riding in a car with a guy without arms?” Stutzman, who won silver in the men’s Individual Compound Open in 2012, asks his passenger.
The three-time Paralympic archer has been using humor as an icebreaker ever since he started school in Fairfield, Iowa.
“I realized humor and comedy…broke the ice with people,” said Stutzman, who was born without arms and took up archery to hunt and provide food for his family.
“The second I say something, and they laugh a little bit, it makes them feel more comfortable around me, and I was able to fit in.”
The Paralympic Games have been held shortly after the corresponding Olympic Games since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea
When he competed in London, he was the only archer without arms. Now, Stutzman says there’s a chance that there could be four to five armless archers in Paris this Paralympics.
“That’s the legacy of Armless Archer. It’s not about me, Armless Archer, because even after I retire, they’re going to continue the awesomeness of Armless Archer to motivate the next generation and the next group of people.”
The Paralympics began as a small competition of injured World War II veterans from Great Britain in 1948.
The Stoke Mandeville Games later grew to become the Paralympic Games, which first took place in Rome, Italy, in 1960, featuring 400 athletes from 23 countries. Since then, they have taken place every four years.
While some people believe the videos went too far, others enjoyed the social media manager’s unconventional approach
