Hollonbeck and Shepherd v. U.S. Olympic Committee

DREDF joined an amicus brief submitted to the Tenth Circuit in Hollonbeck v. U.S. Olympic Committee, and Shepherd v. U.S. Olympic Committee. The consolidated case challenges the USOC policy of offering better benefits (mostly “off-field” benefits) to Olympic and Pan American athletes than are offered to Paralympic athletes. The District of Colorado trial court had ruled that this practice is not illegal discrimination. Paralympic athletes appealed the decision arguing that this kind of differential treatment violates Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits disability discrimination by entities receiving federal funding. In addition to DREDF, the amici include other disability advocacy organizations and individual athletes who are not parties to the lawsuit.