Rule Allows Deaf Wrestlers Sign Language Interpreters

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ROYAL OAK, MI - Deaf high school wrestlers can more extensively use sign-language interpreters during matches under a ruling from the Michigan High School Athletics Association that settles a federal discrimination lawsuit.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by Ellis Kempf, 18, who competes in the 152-pound weight class for the Royal Oak Ravens, alleged that the MHSAA’s failure to allow an American Sign Language interpreter at mat-side violated both his civil rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act, The Detroit News reports.

The MHSAA “rewrote its rules about interpreters for deaf or hard of hearing wrestlers, allowing them full 360 access around the mat at all matches, provided they don’t interfere with wrestlers, coaches, referees or scoring officials,” according to the Nyman Turkish law firm in Southfield, which represented Kempf.

Kempf, who has been deaf since he was 2, had argued that he needed an interpreter to relay instructions from his coach on offensive and defensive tactics. Kempf received a successful cochlear implant when he was 5, but removes the implants during sporting events for safety reasons, leaving him unable to hear at all.

John Johnson, a spokesman for the MHSAA, said the rule change accommodates hearing impaired wrestlers, while still making “things on the mat … as safe as they can be for all parties.”

Attorney Jason Turkish said the ruling levels the field for athletes with disabilities. A referee with the MHSAA disallowed a mat-side interpreter in a 2014 match.

“Athletes with disabilities don’t want advantages, they simply want to compete equally,” Turkish told The Detroit News. “This case ends as it began, with Ellis simply looking for a fair fight.”