Video Transcript

[Triumphant Instrumental Music]

Voiceover:
The Game Plan is a production of Disability Rights California, a space to strategize, organize, and posterize for the future of the disability rights movement. For more information on our work, please visit us at disabilityrightsca.org.

Eric Harris:
Hello everyone, this is Eric Harris and I am with the Game Plan at Disability Rights California. We are really thrilled to have, an amazing guest, Shay, our buddy from Northern California. With us today to talk about the Paralympics. The Winter Paralympics just ended this past week. And to just talk, about, sled hockey, the US team, the success that they've had. And we'll get into some film stuff too, because, we've had, some really cool things happening in the film space with the Oscars this past weekend. And some cool results, some great movies that have come out over the last year. And just the, the current circumstances for disabled folks when it comes to film. So welcome Shay, really, really glad to have you.

Shay Arigbede:
Thank you again for having me on that. Good morning.

Eric:
Good morning. And, just so folks know, this is kind of an ongoing theme, but I've known Shay for oof, almost 25 years now, we were wheelchair basketball teammates, for, during high school and college. And have stayed connected over the years and, and really, you know, my, my brother for, for a really long time. Just appreciate all that he is, all that he does and, and what he represents in our community just just across the board. So it's just is wonderful to have you, man.

Shay:
And likewise my man, sentiments the same over here. Yeah absolutely.

Eric:
Definitely. Definitely. So let's talk about the the Winter Paralympics. It's been it's been a journey, man. Like you and I, back when we were in high school, used to get frustrated because it was impossible to find the Paralympics. Like, we literally had to search every back, you know, internet stream that we could possibly find, to look up the Paralympics. Can you just talk a little bit about the Paralympics, kind of where how far it's come and like, where we are now.

Shay:
From from when we were in high school? I mean, it's it's amazing how far has come, how much content you can find readily, easily on the web, whether it's the Summer Games or the Winter Games. I think it's amazing. I think what it's going to do is just kind of spur on even more development, even more interest in the in the games and the events. You know, when a kid who maybe is recently disabled or maybe is, who knows been disabled since birth, things like that, which was, you know, a lot of people that we knew the ability to go online and see other people disabled who are like you, who are competing at the highest level for their countries. I think that's an invaluable thing. And I'm so happy for the amount of content that is streaming. It's almost like this is part of what the internet was made for, in my opinion. Just had to get to a certain level of technology where you can stream all of this content. But the place that we are now, I think it's amazing, just the ability to be able to find things to watch things, to be able to learn about different events, different sports. Amazing. And it's come a long way.

Eric:
Man that's so real. And it's, it's it's a trip because Peacock has gotten so sophisticated I mean no, obviously no free ads. Right. But but but because the the Paralympics are on NBC, at least for now, and and on Peacock, Peacock has gotten so sophisticated where you can literally go on an app and click on a sport, a Paralympic sport that you, that you want to check out and just watch, you know, the coverage, watch the footage, replays, all of the things, man. So it's just it's just incredible and mind boggling as two guys who who've been involved in sports our whole lives, essentially, to be able to see this is just it's just an amazing development.

Shay:
I would add E, I knew, you know, in the past, for certain events, for certain, you know, whether it might be the Summer games to the Winter games in the past, there'd be times where you'd have events, there wouldn't even be commentary. Now, you know, NBC is making sure not only do we provide commentary, but we provide color commentary from someone who has, you know, direct kind of either participation in the sport or is a Paralympic medalist themselves. So they've really I feel like they've really, really stepped up their detail, their attention to detail, and they really have focused on kind of the experience of the viewer and trying to, you know, really kind of present a full fledged experience of the Paralympics on the web. So.

Eric:
Fantastic man. And I think this most recent Paralympic Games had record breaking numbers in terms of, folks who who were, were viewing, and had millions and millions of viewers. And it's just, just continues to grow. So that's just fantastic. Absolutely. Let's talk a little bit about sled hockey. You know, sled hockey, of course, is one of the events. First of all, as a brother from from the East Bay, [Shay laughs] how how did you, get involved in sled hockey? What kind of brought you to coming to sled hockey? You and I played basketball as as kids. Why why was sled hockey the a sport that, that really kind of pulled you in?

Shay:
Well, I mean, as you know, my man, I've always been a movie person, and I've always really been a sports person. Somehow, I got a hold of a VHS of Mighty Ducks 2 when I was a young kid. And the sport of hockey just. It just just kind of sang to me. It took a long time for me to figure out within the Bay area, within northern California, you know, where could I go to participate? You know, it took some some digging. It took some googling, which at the time, the only place that I could play was in Roseville, which is kind of in your neck of the woods. And that's how I got into it. I was really, really trying to figure out how to still play competitive wheelchair basketball, and I wasn't really, really able to find, you know, the same kind of resources that I had before when I was playing in high school and things like that. I actually was on a whim one day watching ESPN. I think it was around the time of one of the Paralympic Games, and it was also around the time of the anniversary of Chernobyl, the whole kind of accident that happened in Europe. And there was a player at the time, his name was Alexi Salamone, and he was I believe, the captain of the Paralympic team at the time. And ESPN did a feature on Alexi Salamone, and it was the first time I was able to really see okay, what sled hockey looked like. I'd never really seen what the sport looked like, and when I saw it, I was just like, this is this is up my alley. I have to try it. And like I said, I did some googling, found a place to play in Roseville. But that's, you know, how you know, from the East Bay. I was able to find the game. So.

Eric:
Man, that's incredible. That is incredible. And it for those who maybe have never seen it, you know, how, one how would you describe it? And two, what what is different about the sport that like maybe somebody who appreciates, able bodied hockey might not, you know, kind of register?

Shay:
For the most part, I mean, the sport is a modified, obviously, version of ice hockey. You're taking participants who are either, you know, mobility impaired in their legs or amputees, things like that. You're sticking these guys and women into modified, essentially buckets that have ice skate blades underneath. You can change the width of the blades, which, you know, allow you to maybe turn faster and give you more stability. And then you get around the ice holding a stick in each of your hands. And at the back of the stick, there's going to be kind of almost like little like spikes that you're going to use to dig into the ice and propel yourself across the ice. And then you have a conventional blade right at the toe of the stick. You have one that's going to curve, obviously to the right side and one that's going to curve to the left side.

And like you asked E, the biggest difference to say an able bodied hockey player is probably that. You're going to be shooting on both sides of your body as opposed to in able bodied hockey, right? You're going to be sticking to either shooting from the left side or from the right side. At least your stick curve is going to be on one side of the other, right? You have your backhand and you have your forehand, but on sled hockey, you essentially you're shooting from kind of four different sides of your stick. You have the backhand and the forehand of your dominant hand, and you have the backhand and forehand of your non-dominant hand and you're shooting from each so.

Eric:
Wow, wow, that man. And I know I've seen it in person. It's just it's one of those things where, when you look at, you know, players, especially at the highest levels, and we're talking, you know, at the Paralympic level, the best players in the world, it like looks second nature. It just looks so natural. It looks, as if, you know, they they can just do it in their sleep. You know, the Winter Paralympics just ending this past weekend, but just the, the success, if you will, of the current USA team. Five straight gold medals like, that just I think for any whether you're a sports fan, non sports fan, just that that just seems ridiculous.

Shay:
It it is ridiculous E. It's an incredible run. I think it speaks to two things. I think it speaks to kind of the heritage and the generation you know, before these past few teams, they set the bar very, very high and for all of the kind of younger people that were around at the time watching those team that was, you know, you grew up watching, you grew up watching a dominant U.S. sled hockey program. And that has just kind of continued on into the present. There's been so much development and so much kind of emphasis on reaching players at a young age to try to get them to different, you know, training, camps, to get to various, places around the country for tournaments to be looked at by scouts, different things like that. There's a big, big emphasis on player development, very similar to wheelchair basketball, in my opinion, where you really have kind of this legacy that goes back a few years, this winning legacy, this kind of winning DNA that ends up, you know, the new generation inherits. And I think that's what we've been seeing. There's just been a it's it's dominate is probably an understatement, [Eric laughs] if I could say that because they have been so so, so so just amazing with how they play together with how they play, you know, as a team, they play team hockey. And it's I mean, obviously the results are there so.

Eric:
Man, it's just it's just been incredible and cool to watch. And I know it's one of the tough things, and I know it's similar, for wheelchair basketball, it's tough to get some attention on the sport outside of the, the Paralympic Games because, of course, during the Paralympics, everybody's, you know, kind of glued to, to the sport and, and gets excited about it. And one of the things that I, I know on the basketball side, we're really trying to do, especially in the US, is get people to get interested when there are, you know, other kind of big national events or big kind of collegiate events or what have you. Can you talk a little bit just about what sled hockey, is, is trying to do, to, like, build more interest, outside of just, you know, kind of the USA track and the and the Paralympic track?

Shay:
I yeah, I mean, there's there's been a lot more emphasis particularly I mean, obviously in the United States, right, where we can be very regional with our sport. So, you know, on the East coast in New England, places like that, you know, you're going to probably see a little bit more going into trying to, you know, maybe bring, a camera to be able to stream a game, things like that. Out in the West Coast, and as you get further away from the East Coast, you know, we still have some ways to go. But I think with USA hockey and some of the things that they're trying to do to try to get more exhibition games, streaming online, to get more, kind of behind the scenes when camps are going and get that content online. I think they're really, really figuring out, okay, the internet, it can be a very useful tool for exposure. It can be a very useful tool for recruitment, and we need to figure out ways that we can really, really kind of drill down and get as much content out there for kids. Prospective kids who may be interested in the sport. And I think that, you know, little by little they're trying to do that. As as we all know, the internet, social media, these things can be very, very powerful tools. And, you know, it's just a matter sometime of, of uploading the content. So I think, as people realize more and more, hey there is a there's a demand for this, whether it's, you know, little clips on YouTube or various things like that. There's a demand for this type of content from able bodied people, from disabled people, because it's just an interesting sport. And there are interesting events, not just sled hockey, but, many of the events in, the Winter games and the Summer games, we're starting to see people really kind of come around to the idea that the internet is a very useful tool if used and implementing the right ways. I think it's just like a city, just a matter of time of, well, just getting more cameras and things like that to the rinks and getting that content on the, on the web.

Eric:
I love it. As the last question on this, on this topic, can you just, sports for us and you know, in the disability movement, sometimes we try to figure out, like, what are the things that give folks with disabilities, a sense of purpose, a sense of joy, belonging. I always talk about, you know, for me, that was, you know, wheelchair sports for me was was just that. It was, oh, I get to meet a whole bunch of other kids that have disabilities like me. Let me, you know, kind of connect with them. And it kind of blew my mind and opened up a whole new world of opportunity to connect with not just disabled kids in, in the Bay and in Northern California. But then, of course, we got a chance, even in high school, to travel all over the country. And meet, you know, some, some amazing folks all over the place who we still stay connected with, to this day. So can you talk just a little bit about the impact that sports has had on your life, participating in sports, being able to watch sports, just your involvement and just how it's how it's impacted you?

Shay:
It's impacted me huge. You know, as you said, I mean, even the relationships, what could, you and I I mean, we're talking right now and, you know, and we first met each other on a basketball tournament to Texas, you know, as 16 year olds. So there's a huge component of, you know, camaraderie, of friendship, of relationships. And I think that's very important for a lot of people that that might be the biggest thing that they are looking for. And I think you need that initially, right? And for some people, that's going to be enough. For some people, they're going to say, hey, you know, I think I want to go another level. I want to try to make the Paralympics. I want to try to do this or that. But that's, you know, your foray into the world. I think for a lot of kids, it's can I be around people that are maybe going through the same things or similar things that I'm going through right now? Can we find common ground as athletes? And from there, right? How far can I take this if I want to do that? And I think it's important that disabled athletes have those options, right? Where, hey, maybe I want to just go out and have some fun and get some exercise, and there's going to be people that say, hey, I really, really am into this, and I want to see how far I can go and how much I can push myself as an athlete.

And I think, I think all these things are very important, right? That's how you first pull in, maybe kids is, is to get them to just try a sport, have fun. And that's where you're going to get your future Paralympians. That's where you're going to get your future medalists. And I think those those grassroots kind of levels of the game, whether it's basketball, whether it's sled hockey, whether it's monoskiing, I think that's very important. And that's what initially brought me in, and that's what's important. After you're done playing your sport. We can't play sports forever. Those relationships that you create, those friendships, you know, those are important things that you may keep for your entire life. So I think it's the whole thing is, is fantastic. And those were important things to me as well.

Eric:
Man, that's exactly right. I, you know, I, I say all the time and of course, as you, as you just said, there are so many different levels. It's, you know, folks who want to just kind of get involved, folks who want to play recreationally. I haven't met any more competitive people than wheelchair athletes, adaptive athletes at the highest levels. Those people can can be competitive to the levels of, just like, you know, any Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry, LeBron James, you know, Patrick Mahomes. Like those guys who who on a professional level are amazing and super competitive and these folks that we're talking about are as competitive as any of them. Of course you know A'ja Wilson you know amazing amazing high levels of talent and unable bodied side in terms of sports. I haven't met you know folks who are who are more competitive than some of the Paralympic athletes, whether it be folks who, are still participating or folks who participated even years ago and still have, you know, that itch of of, you know, wanting to to be involved and just like, still still love their, their sport. So, so I really appreciate, you know, you diving in to the Paralympics and kind of getting, getting us going with the sled hockey information as well.

I want to transition just a little bit. You and I have talked about film, for a really long time. The importance of disability representation, obviously, people of color being represented, obviously women being represented. We just had the Oscars this past weekend. And it was, you know, really, really, really cool to see, the results. I mean, we get excited about the Academy Awards every year, whether there are ten great movies that, you know are going to be featured or whether it's, you know, a couple, but can you just talk a little bit about the importance, when it comes to film television, of having disabled people both in front of and behind, the camera?

Shay:
I look at, I look at movies as being a cross section of kind of human existence. In my opinion, it's you have just this cross section of stories male, female, black, white, American, non- Amer. I mean, it's a story and it's the story of us in many ways, right? Acted out on, on the screen, you can have a cross-section of humanity without all of humanity being represented. In my opinion, you have to be able to tell stories of everyone and not just people that are bipedal and kind of walking around. You have to, you know, try to have everyone be represented in some sort of way. I think it's important for disabled actors to be seen. I think it's important for disabled filmmakers to be working. And I think it's just going to create a more rich experience for the art form of cinema, right? If you have everyone participating in their, in their, their ways, big or small. So I think it's very important. I think it's very important. I think representation, as we all know it matters when a person sees a representation of themselves on screen, it's a it's an important thing. And, you know, we're seeing it now with even people behind the screen. I mean, you talk about people like Ryan Coogler that people draw a ton of inspiration from. I think it's very, very important that we have proper representation of disabled people in film, in TV and, I will never, ever, ever say otherwise. So.

Eric:
Yeah, no, it's it's really been fascinating to observe. From your perspective, I mean we've had films like CODA, you know, have Academy Award winners, you mentioned Ryan Coogler, of course, Oakland's finest. And not just representing the black community, but he's he's talked, you know, openly about, his his stutter and, you know, kind of how he's navigated, how he's navigated speaking, especially in public. Would you say just kind of like where we've kind of come from, like where we are maybe now and moving forward that we're in a better place when it comes to disability representation. I know, for example, like The Pitt, for example, the show The Pitt on HBO has a lot of disability representation, whether it's deaf folks, whether it's wheelchair users, whether it's autistic folks. Would you say we're in a better place now than than we've been when it comes to disability representation?

Shay:
I think so. I think we are. I think that we can't get complacent, right? There's so much more that needs to be done and so much more that we can and we can do so much room further that we can move. But I do think that people are beginning to be conscious, of certain decisions that they're making, both in front of the camera and behind to, you know, not to not necessarily, you know, just just allow people to come in just because they're disabled. But giving people who are qualified, who are disabled the opportunity to prove and show what they can do. I think that's very important. I think we've come a long way, and I think we have much more that we can do. But I it is very, it's it's a positive thing to see, as you say, you know, shows like The Pitt with Noah Wyle, things like that. It's it's very positive to see that people in the writers rooms, people behind the camera are thinking about these things and acting upon them and trying to implement and place certain things into the show. And I think that's very important.

Eric:
And, you know, I think one of the things that the, you know, we've certainly talked about and something that I know disabled people really care about is there is that kind of fine line where it's like, we don't want to be tokenized. We don't want to be in a situation where somebody's disability is like their their only, you know, attribute on a show, for example, or, or what have you. It's, it's we want to be as complex in terms of characters as, as anybody else with or without a disability. And, you know, having disabled people, as you talked about at the beginning of the process so that we don't get to a situation where, you know, the show is, you know, halfway through development and then they're like, man, we should we should add, you know, a wheelchair user in this, and they just throw somebody in, but that there's actually a thought process early on. Well, this is how we want to actually develop, fully developed people, fully developed story, all of those sorts of things. So, so can you talk to us a little bit about that? And especially, you know, you are a storyteller. You are somebody who really thinks about these things from the very beginning.

Shay:
I appreciate that E, yeah. I mean, in my opinion, it should be a situation where. For example, with casting, with actors, you know, if you're doing something and you are looking for talent who happens to be disabled, you know, there are people out there, it's a matter of casting that net and giving people the opportunity to come in and show what they can do. There's a lot of talented, talented actors who are disabled, who are wheelchair users and are completely serious and and adamant about their craft, about taking opportunities and doing the best with those opportunities and showing, you know, I am an actor first before I'm maybe a disabled person in this audition. I think those are very important things.

As the same thing behind the camera, we're starting to see, you know, a generation of people who are disabled, who are talking about disability on film. And it's important that we give we give time to those voices, that we give interest to those voices. Because those are important stories to to be out in the world, those are important stories for people to be exposed to. And, like I said, it's a matter of casting a net large enough so that you can bring in talent to people who happen to be disabled. And it's it's a matter of, okay, is this something that we consciously want to do, or are we going to kind of do it halfway? And I think most people at this point, those are things that they're thinking about. And it's good to see situations where people are being, you know, being, thoughtful and, and genuine in those intentions to bring in disabled people, whether it's in front of the camera behind so.

Eric:
That's right. That's right. Well, and it's funny because I know we could have a whole full show just talking about the Academy Awards. The Academy Awards is is a fun kind of just celebration of film for the year. And, you know, the the awardees, the, the folks who get, who get the awards, but but all the, all the folks involved in the Academy Awards, we we we get excited for and we know that that's career changing, life changing stuff. So that could be its own separate show. You and I, of course, can talk about it, but there is one awardee that I did want to bring got super excited about it. And feel free to to nerd out a little bit on it if you'd like to. I want to talk about the the the cinema cinematography winner, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, from California, woman of color. First woman to win the award ever. A lot of folks you know might not know what cinematography exactly is, but or the importance of cinematography to to a film, especially a film, at, you know, at that level, with Sinners. But it seemed like just in interviews and in conversation that she essentially was Ryan Coogler's like right hand person, like she was she was locked in with with his mindset, with his vision. So can you just talk a little bit about cinematography? And, and what, you know, why that was such a monumental win?

Shay:
Yeah. I mean, just to to give an abbreviated kind of explanation of the cinematography is to people who may not be familiar. It's essentially it's the actual photography of your film, right? It's it's the choosing of lenses and choosing of filters it's, you know, the selection of certain certain lights to put up, that's going to enhance your scene. And the, the person who leads all of that is going to be your director of photography. And in this case, obviously, we saw the Oscars, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, she was the cinematography, director of photography for sinners. I think she's incredible. She's a person that I was, you know, familiar with a bit before this. And it seems to me Ryan Coogler, another one of his director of photography, a lady named Rachel Morrison who was amazing herself as well. Ryan seems to have a a a prowess for finding directors of photography that that really complement the stories that he wants to tell, that complement the way that he likes to work. And, you know, it seemed like a match made in heaven, right? [Eric laughs]

For this, this, this past movie. I mean, the goal obviously, is to just for some filmmakers is just to to get to the finish line, right, to just finish your movie on time, on budget, right? I think it's probably in most people's wildest dreams to actually win an Oscar for a film that you've made. I think it's it's it's probably always on the back of, you know, your mind but for it to actually happen? I mean, it's it's fantastic. It's wonderful. First woman of color, first woman to win the award I believe, if I'm if I'm if I'm not wrong. And I think she did a fantastic job. Obviously these days with cinematography, a lot of it is kind of mixed down with a lot of visual effects and things like that, and the way that she handled everything that was on her plate, her workload, handling the photography of the film, handling how they were going to implement the the, the visual effects in the film, which Sinners has a lot which people and I don't know if they're totally aware. I think most people think of the visual effects. I think of, you know, Marvel movie, things like that. But there was a lot of visual effects that was implemented in Sinners, and a lot of that was directly tied into cinematography. So I think she did a fantastic job, and I think that she and Ryan, clearly they made a fantastic team.

Eric:
Man. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, I wanted to give you a chance to to nerd out on on that topic for sure, because because, I got excited about it and I know you did as well. So we're going to, we're going to kind of tie things off a little bit here. I have two final questions, and it kind of sometimes catches catches folks a little bit off guard. But I know you're you're on your toes. I know you'll be ready for it. [Shay laughs] First question, what is a piece of media music, book show film that you are super excited about right now that you would want folks to to tune into or to check out? And just talk a little bit about it.

Shay:
Oh, man. Yeah, you put me on the spot and I don't know that I was on my toes that much. Let's see. That's a good question. I have recently been into and I've been kind of revisiting, Ken Burns last documentary on the Revolutionary War of the United States. If you haven't seen it, I, I would recommend it. I think it's fantastic. Ken Burns is an amazing filmmaker. Kind of a documentaries is his lane. He did an amazing job. And I, you know, I watched it the first time and I went through and watched it again. And it's, I'm a history nerd. If you're if you're into that, I would absolutely recommend it. That was a project that I've been really, really excited about. When it was announced, I was really excited. And, you know, I've been I've been watching that and kind of revisiting certain parts of that documentary series.

Eric:
Love it, love it. And okay, Ken Burns is one of one, you know what I mean? It's like.

Shay:
One of a kind. If you get into some of the work that he's done, whether it's on the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, baseball, I think he has one on jazz, prohibition. Just some amazing work. And I think he's still, you know, coming up with, new stories to tell, new documentaries, to put out there. So, so I appreciate that you've lifted, his work up for sure. And then the final question, your game plan for the for the rest of the year for 2026. What is Shay's game plan? It can involve personal stuff, work stuff, advocacy. Whatever, you just feel, you know, kind of compelled, to lean into this year. The thing that I'm going to be leaning into is, I, I think I, I have been really, really, really impressed with some of the other events. I'm just kind of taking it back to the Paralympics. You know, usually when I'm watching the Winter Paralympics, I'm. I'm almost just tunnel vision on sled hockey.

There was other events that I got the opportunity as we were talking about the streaming on Peacock got an opportunity to take a deep dive on, and I think that's probably going to be part of what I'm going to be doing for the rest of the year, particularly as we get closer to the winter again, watching some of the other events like monoskiing. And I'm really, really into it. I think it's a fantastic sport. And that's going to be part of part of what I do for the rest of the year is to really start to learn about some of these athletes and some of the other sports that I got exposure to, and got to really take a deep dive on this past Paralympic. So I'm definitely going to be doing a lot more research and trying to find more stuff on YouTube and, you know, getting more acquainted with some of these other disabled sports.

Eric:
I love it, I love it. Well, Shay, I really appreciate you. And, and just appreciate you coming in and dropping knowledge for for so many folks who are into sports, some who might not be into sports, but have learned a lot. Film, all the issues. I know that you're a man of many interests. So, so just appreciate you joining us on The Game Plan, man. It means the world.

Shay:
Thank you for having me my man. As always, my brother, I appreciate it. And, again, thank you guys for having me. And you guys... fantastic show. Always.

Eric:
Cool, appreciate it, appreciate it. Well have a good one, man.

[Triumphant music plays]

This has been the Game Plan a production of Disability Rights. California, please like subscribe, comment on the platform of your choice. See you next time.