by Everette Bacon and Mark Riccobono
From the Editor: For many of us who are blind, attending live sports events is very enjoyable, especially when these events are broadcast and we can hear the action described on the radio and be part of the crowd and its own reaction to what is happening on the field. With all of the new technology used to digitize and transmit signals, the immediate play-by-play that once we automatically assumed has started to disappear. In Resolution 2023-05, we addressed this issue, and this is an update on our progress. Everette Bacon is an active member of the National Federation of the Blind, serving as our corporate secretary and as the president of our Utah affiliate. As one of our many dedicated sports fans, here is what he says:
In late 2022, I embarked on a mission to witness the prowess of LeBron James, one of the NBA's greatest athletes, live in action. Determined to fulfill this aspiration, I secured tickets to a Lakers/Jazz game. Despite having not attended a game since before the pandemic, I anticipated a seamless experience akin to my previous encounters, where the live radio feed had worked impeccably. However, to my dismay, the game I attended in 2022 exhibited a significant delay in the radio feed. My attempts to address this issue with the Jazz guest services proved futile.
Coincidentally, during this time my esteemed colleague and fellow board member, Shawn Calloway, approached me regarding a resolution for the 2023 National Convention aimed at rectifying the challenge of live radio broadcasts at major sporting events. Shawn, having faced a similar predicament during a Washington Commanders game, shared my fervor for resolving this issue. Notably, President Riccobono and I encountered analogous challenges during a Philadelphia Phillies game, as did Marcy Carpenter in Seattle. Matt Ader of Vispero, an avid sports enthusiast, echoed our sentiments and endorsed the resolution. Given the prevalence of this issue among our Federation community, I collaborated with Chris Danielson, renowned for his expertise in crafting resolutions, to articulate our proposal.
Upon the resolution's successful passage, I resolved to effect change within my home state. President Riccobono dispatched a letter, accompanied by the resolution, to the commissioners of major sports leagues and associations. Concurrently, I identified the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Utah Jazz and initiated correspondence. Despite initial non-responsiveness, a more urgent follow-up elicited a positive response, leading to a meeting at the Delta Center, the Jazz's home venue, in January, just before the Washington Seminar. The reception was warm, and the Jazz demonstrated a proactive approach towards addressing the live broadcast delay issue, alongside exploring avenues to enhance accessibility for all attendees. Excitingly, discussions even broached the prospect of hosting an NFB night with the Jazz in the upcoming year.
Fast forward to February 14, when my wife surprised me with tickets to the Lakers/Jazz game, and I promptly informed the Jazz of my attendance plans. A week before the game, the Jazz reached out to inform me about a device available at guest services, facilitating live game broadcast. Upon arrival at the game, I obtained the device, akin to those used in movie theaters. Though encountering a minor issue during the first quarter, the Jazz swiftly rectified it, allowing me to savor every moment of the game in real-time. This experience underscored the importance of accessibility rights, a principle fervently upheld by the National Federation of the Blind.
As I reflect on this journey, I am indebted to the collective network of advocates within the National Federation of the Blind who have nurtured my advocacy skills. Looking ahead, my next endeavor entails advocating for Aira accessibility at every stadium, ballpark, and arena. With baseball season beckoning, let us embrace the spirit of the game and continue advocating for inclusivity in all facets of society. Let’s play ball!
January 22, 2024
National Basketball Association
Attn: Commissioner Adam Silver
Olympic Tower
265 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022
[email protected]
Via email and regular mail
RE: Request for Universal Solution for Live Audio Without Broadcast Delay
Dear Commissioner Silver:
I am writing to you not only as a sports fan, but in my capacity as President of the National Federation of the Blind, the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans. Our organization seeks the full participation of blind people in all aspects of our society so that we can live the lives we want. We do this through collective action to promote policies decided upon by our annual national convention, which is our supreme governing authority. Please find enclosed a resolution passed at our most recent convention held in Houston, Texas, in July of 2023.
As stated in the resolution, many blind people enjoy the shared experience of live sports. We supplement the unique stadium experience by listening to the live radio broadcast of the event as we cheer on our team from the stands. The radio play-by-play typically provides the descriptive information that we need since we cannot see the action on the field. But this experience often falls short of allowing our equal participation due to the broadcast delay applied to the radio commentary. This delay, sometimes several seconds or even longer, creates a disconnect between the live action and the auditory description, diminishing the overall experience. It means that blind fans learn about a particularly spectacular (or disappointing) play long after the fans around us have already reacted to it.
We believe it is both feasible and crucial for major sports leagues to develop policies and practices that standardize live audio commentary without a broadcast delay for in-stadium attendees. Currently, while some franchises have implemented solutions by working with their broadcast partners or by other means, such as dedicated receivers that fans can borrow, there is currently no way for a blind fan to know what they will experience at different venues, or even sometimes from season to season at the games of their favorite home teams. Therefore, we are asking for the adoption of league-wide best practices.
Finding a solution to this issue would not only be a testament to your league’s commitment to inclusion but also send a strong message about the importance of accessibility in sports. Every fan should have an equal opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the excitement of the moment.
We urge you to collaborate with technology providers, broadcasters, and other stakeholders to devise a universal, delay-free audio solution. The National Federation of the Blind stands ready and willing to collaborate in this effort; indeed, we believe that the expertise of blind fans, gained through our lived experience, is critical to success. We are prepared to bring our expertise at the national level as well as our extensive network of state affiliates and local chapters (the fans attending these venues locally) to be part of the solution. I hope to talk with you soon about how we can work together.
Thank you for your attention to this critical matter. We look forward to collaborating with you to create a future where all fans can experience the thrill of live sports together.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Riccobono, President
National Federation of the Blind
WHEREAS, many blind people are sports fans who support their local sports teams; and
WHEREAS, live radio broadcasts of sporting events, where available, are pivotal in helping many blind people to enjoy sporting events, even when they attend the events in person, because radio broadcasters typically provide thorough nonvisual descriptions of the action on the field of play for listeners; and
WHEREAS, there may be a significant audio delay, ranging from a few seconds to a minute or more, between the action and the description of the play over the live radio broadcast, which can mean that blind people listening to the broadcast in the stadium or arena do not receive timely information about the action as it occurs; and
WHEREAS, some sports franchises have worked with their broadcast partners to eliminate such delays, indicating that there is no broadcast requirement that the delays be present to meet Federal Communications Commission standards: for example, the Baltimore Orioles worked with the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind to resolve this issue; and
WHEREAS, other franchises have reportedly solved the problem by providing dedicated pre-tuned receivers to blind fans, tuned to a direct feed from the broadcast booth, allowing fans to hear the play-by-play with no delay; and
WHEREAS, while these solutions have been implemented by some franchises, there are not any league-wide policies, practices, or standards that recognize and address the negative effects of broadcast delays: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this fifth day of July, 2023, in the City of Houston, Texas, that we urge all of the professional sports organizations in the United States, including but not limited to Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League, to develop policies, standards, and/or best practices in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind and with their franchises and broadcast partners to eliminate audio delays during live play-by-play broadcasts.