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The National Association of the Deaf has sued the University of Maryland at College Park, charging that it is violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by failing to provide captions in athletic facilities with the information being provided via public address systems. The association says that it has told Maryland previously that it should add caption systems, and the suit asks that they be added to the large scoreboards that convey other information for the fans.
“Athletic events are tremendously popular for the general public to attend, and this is true also for deaf and hard of hearing fans,” said a statement from the association's CEO, Howard A. Rosenblum, "All professional and collegiate sports teams need to recognize that many fans, not just those who are deaf or hard of hearing, need captioning in sports stadiums and arenas to understand what is being announced. Every sports team should implement quality captioning systems visible to everyone not only to comply with the law but also to meet the needs of everyone.”
A spokesman for the university told The Washington Post that Maryland believes it complies with the law by creating a website for the captions, so that fans with hearing disabilities can read the captions on their smartphones or tablets. The spokesman also said that Maryland will provide game-day loans of tablets to those who need them.
