Nike’s GameOn Initiative Announced at 2024 Paralympics
Nike and the USOPC announced the GameOn program at an event in Paris. From left to right, Sarah Reinertsen, Paralympian and Nike Lead Professional, Sports Marketing; Vanessa Garcia-Brito, Nike Chief Impact Officer; Sarah Hirshland, CEO, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee; James Loduca, Nike Vice President, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion; seated is Dr. Cheri Blauwet, Paralympian and Sports Medicine Physician, Professor at Harvard Medical School, and Chief Medical Officer of Spaulding Rehabilitation/Mass General Brigham. Courtesy of Nike
By Erin Tatum
Being disabled often means thinking beyond the boundaries of what’s thought to be possible. The radical notion that those with disabilities can determine their own capabilities remains unfathomable to most. Luckily, Nike is here to help push that ideology over the finish line. At their Paralympic Experience in Paris, they were determined to support athletes of all abilities.
Vanessa Garcia-Brito, Nike’s Chief Impact Officer, points out that the competitors of the Paralympics come “in many different bodies and from all kinds of different backgrounds. They give us a chance to share in the awe and pride and joy of some of the most amazing athletes. We know winning isn't for everyone, but everybody, everybody, everybody should have the opportunity to determine that for themselves, to define what winning means to them, to reach for their greatest aspirations and to experience the human spirit, to feel the grit and beauty and boldness that exists within us all.”
But how does one reimagine said boldness as a fresh incarnation? Retirement for these elite athletes looks different from the trajectory of conventional careers.They end their sports journey in their thirties, at the pinnacle of their potential. Nike introduced their GameOn initiative as an invitation for former competitors to pivot. “We believe in the power of sport to move the world forward worldwide,” explains James Loduca, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Nike. “Our mission is to level the playing field and expand access to sport for everyone. And really that's why we're here to share the news about GameOn, which is a brand new program from Nike with our friends at the USOPC that will allow us to continue to access and expand our diverse talent pipeline and reach more people from diverse lived experiences for work at Nike who can contribute to our mission and also expand their career in sports.” Applications for the year-long program are open between September 12th and October 7th, with the first cohort set to begin February 4, 2025 at Nike World Headquarters at Beaverton, Oregon. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis through mid-November and candidates will be notified of their selection by the end of November. Relocation assistance is available and selected candidates will be eligible for employee benefits provided by Nike.
Three-time Paralympian Dr. Cheri Blauwet fondly remembers competing for both the thrill and the scope of the impact on the wider disabled community. “That’s a unique thread through Paralympic athletes. All of us know that we're there to put out our best effort and hopefully get on the podium, but we also know that what we're doing is changing attitudes and hearts and minds and elevating disability rights across the world. As I was winding down my competitive career, I started to think about what comes next.”
Now serving as a Chairperson for the International Paralympic Committee Medical Commission, Dr. Blauwet is very familiar with maintaining that momentum into an equally resonant second act. “I decided to apply to medical school because I felt like it would offer me a really great foundation to then branch off in many different areas of providing care for patients as a sports medicine clinician, engaging in research to help us understand how to prevent injuries in elite athletes, including Paralympic athletes. And also be able to continue to use that skill set to be able to speak and talk about the impact of Paralympic sport on health and the importance of promoting physical activity across all populations, including underserved populations or in places where we may look at someone and make an assumption in our head, but they can't be active, but actually they can.”
At Sport dans la Ville’s new campus, Nike held its Coach the Dream: Future of Youth Sport Summit, a union of 35 partners working towards the goal of fostering inclusive coaching experiences across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Assumptions, although well-intentioned, wind up becoming a barrier to healthy athletic exploration. Keeping players on the sidelines sends the message that they don’t belong in the game. “People are scared on the one hand and also try to overprotect kids and young people with disabilities,” Lisa Hubler of Pfeffersport observes. “They're not challenging them and they're therefore not really empowering them. So that's what we try to teach that is super important. You can also build challenges for a kid that's using a wheelchair for example. [They don’t] have to be protected.”
Jon-Paul St. Germain, Vice President of Sport Development at the Special Olympics, echoes this hunger for inclusion: “In a perfect world, I'd say that every sport club, every school, every community organization would be mandated to provide opportunities for people of all ability levels with disabilities. And that would be part of the way our communities operate. I mean, I'd love to see…that sport is elevated to being seen as a critical physical, social, mental wellbeing, health intervention rather than relegated to an optional recreational entertainment industry.”
The Paralympic Games are a testament to everything that the disabled community can achieve. Nike believes that sports are for all of us. With the GameOn initiative, we move closer to a future that beckons people of all abilities to pursue their wildest dreams.