Advocates Sue Washington Redskins Over Captioning
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
September 22, 2006

LANDOVER, MARYLAND--The National Association of the Deaf is suing the Washington Redskins professional football franchise and FedEx Field to force them to offer closed-captioning during home games.

The advocacy group claims in a recently filed class action suit that the stadium is violating Title III of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide captioning for announcements made over the public address system. Title III was written to ensure that public facilities and services are accessible to individuals with disabilities.

The suit was brought on behalf of all fans who are deaf or hard of hearing and attend Redskins home games. It asks the U.S. District Court to order the Redskins and FedEx Field to provide captioning on scoreboards and video monitors for announcements, including play information, penalties called, and safety and emergency information.

"I am a life-long, die-hard Redskins fan and I love watching the Washington Redskins play at FedEx Field, but I miss out on the total game experience because I cannot hear the information announced over the public address system," Shane Feldman, one of three plaintiffs named in the suit, said in NAD's statement. "Providing captioning is not rocket science; it is simple, and it is the right thing to do."

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Reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express international disability rights news service.
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