Deaf wrestler lost title when referee’s mask hid verbal warnings, Nebraska ACLU says

A deaf wrestler who lost Nebraska’s state wrestling championship match believes he wasn’t given “a fair chance” at winning the title when a referee’s mask hid verbal warnings.

Paul Ruff was a senior wrestler of Gering High School at the time of the February 2021 championship and is now being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska and the National Association of the Deaf, according to a Dec. 28 news release.

The two organizations sent a “demand letter” to the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) on behalf of Ruff, arguing that he was discriminated against while requesting several actions, including a public apology, a change to the bylaws and a “reasonable amount of compensatory damages.”

NSAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News. The organization has until Jan. 18, 2022 to respond to the letter.

ACLU of Nebraska says the referee’s actions denied the deaf wrestler of “reasonable modifications and a fair opportunity to win the state championship.”

“Paul is deaf and relies on lip reading when he wrestles,” the letter says, adding that the NSAA and the referee knew this was the case.

The letter says the only masked referee at the 2021 Wrestling Championship was assigned to the first-place title match Ruff was competing in, and that the referee was wearing an opaque mask, meaning unable to be seen through.

The referee “wore such a mask while refereeing this final critical championship match despite having knowledge that Paul is deaf and uses lipreading as the primary means of communication,” according to the Nebraska ACLU.

“Although the NSAA and the referee knew Ruff was deaf and relied on lip-reading, the referee kept his mask on, used verbal warnings throughout the match and issued a caution point to Ruff when those warnings went unheard,” the news release says. “Because he could not hear the warnings, Ruff was unable to make corrections and lost the match 0-1.”

This was the first time Ruff was penalized for such a violation while competing in high school, his representation says.

As such, the Ruff family feels the NSAA discriminated against him in the following ways, per the letter:

• not providing “reasonable modifications” for the match
• dismissing his concerns and appeals after the match, while still at the arena

• “construing the issue as a ‘judgment call’ made by the referee”

• “blaming Ruff and his coach” because they didn’t make :a formal request: for accommodations

• publicly saying Ruff could understand the referee as he competed.

“Through endless hours of training and hard work, Paul earned his place at the State Championship; however, the callous indifference of the NSAA and its agents denied Paul the opportunity to take home the title because of his disability which permanently marred his record of achievement and could have impacted his future opportunities,” the letter says.

Since February, Ruff’s representation says the NSAA has provided cultural competency classes, but the referee in question “responded by contacting the Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NCDHH) to bolster his claim that he is without fault.”

Now, ACLU of Nebraska and the National Association of the Deaf are demanding: a public apology, bylaws that accommodate deaf wrestlers through clear face masks or shields when coverings are required, annual training on how to ensure equal opportunity for student athletes with sensory impairments, suspension of the referee’s card and compensatory damages to the Ruff family.

“I want other deaf or hard of hearing student athletes, actually all student athletes with disabilities, to be able to have an equal opportunity to compete in the sport they love without discrimination,” Ruff said in the news release. “We’re just asking for a level playing field.”

The organizations did not say what actions they would take if these demands are not met.

Ruff has since graduated from high school and is training for the Deaflympics in Beresford, South Dakota, the ACLU said.

This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Deaf wrestler lost title when referee’s mask hid verbal warnings, Nebraska ACLU says."