Special Olympics

17 Stories

Trump 'Overrides' His 'People' on Special Olympics Funding

President backs off on controversial proposal to cut funding

(Newser) - President Trump announced Thursday that he was backing off a budget request to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics, reversing course after his administration weathered days of criticism for the proposed cut . Speaking to reporters as he left the White House for a rally in Michigan, Trump said he had...

DeVos Grilled on Plan to Yank Special Olympics Funds

Education secretary says 'we had to make some difficult decisions' for the next budget

(Newser) - By her own words, Betsy DeVos thinks the Special Olympics is "an awesome organization"—just not one that should be funded by the federal government. The secretary of education appeared before a House Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday to try to explain nearly $7 billion in suggested cuts to education...

Olympian Is 'So Sorry' About His Halloween Costume

Shaun White dressed as a disabled character from 'Tropic Thunder'

(Newser) - Shaun White knows how to snowboard—but dress up for Halloween? Not so much, it seems. The three-time winner of Olympic gold went out this weekend as Simple Jack, the disabled character from the movie Tropic Thunder, and promptly issued an apology Monday, People reports. "I owe everyone in...

Special Olympian Calls Out Ann Coulter

Touching open letter questions Coulter's motives

(Newser) - Ann Coulter's recent tweet calling President Obama a "retard" caused a firestorm, but perhaps the best response comes in the form of an open letter from John Franklin Stephens, a 30-year-old athlete with Down syndrome. In this Special Olympics blog post , he ponders Coulter's choice of words:...

Charity Races Just Aren't Very Effective

A lot of the cash ends up being spent on staging the event itself

(Newser) - Jeff Sigmon wanted to do something in honor of his 3-year-old niece, who has Down syndrome. And so he signed up for Special Olympics Virginia's "Over the Edge" fund-raiser, pledging to raise at least $1,000 (he raised $2,520) then rappel off of Richmond’s second-highest building,...

What's Wrong With 'Retard'
 What's Wrong With 'Retard' 
SPECIAL OLYMPICS CEO
Feb 15, 2010 4:04 PM CST

What's Wrong With 'Retard'

Slur diminishes 'the joy, hope, and sparkling individuality of millions'

(Newser) - In the wake of the furor over Rahm Emanuel and Rush Limbaugh's liberal use of the word "retard," Special Olympics CEO Tim Shriver reminds us why the word matters: it represents a damning and hurtful social stigma. Intellectual disabilities advocates aren't looking to ban the word "retard"...

Rahm Emanuel Apologizes for 'Retarded' Comment

Obama's chief of staff personally calls Special Olympics CEO

(Newser) - Rahm Emanuel says he's sorry he called liberals “retarded” in August, and he has personally apologized to the CEO of the Special Olympics. "The apology was accepted,” a White House aide tells the Washington Post . The comment has drawn fire since it came to light, and it...

'Trailblazer' Shriver Laid to Rest

Special Olympian: she was 'Queen of humanity'

(Newser) - At today's funeral Mass for Eunice Kennedy Shriver, daughter Maria called her a “trailblazer” who “was scary smart and not afraid to show it,” the Cape Cod Times reports. Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Joe Biden, and Arnold Schwarzenegger attended the private service for the Special Olympics founder...

Mourners Honor Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Hundreds honor founder of Special Olympics

(Newser) - Several hundred people mourned Eunice Kennedy Shriver at a wake today in Massachusetts, the Cape Cod Times reports. Husband Sargent Shriver, daughter Maria, and son-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger were joined by family, friends, and others appreciative of Shriver’s advocacy for the disabled through the Special Olympics. "Eunice's life was...

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Unsung 'Civil Rights Hero'

(Newser) - Not too long ago the mentally disabled—or "retarded" people, as we called them then—were often hidden away in medical institutions, neglected by their families, and subjected to horrific policies such as forced sterilization. Eunice Kennedy Shriver changed all that with the Special Olympics, which started in her...

Kennedy Sister Eunice Shriver Dead at 88

(Newser) - Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the 88-year-old sister of John F. Kennedy and the founder of the Special Olympics, died at Cape Cod Hospital early today, the Wall Street Journal reports. Shriver had been in critical condition for a week. Inspired by the struggles of her mentally disabled sister Rosemary, Shriver spent...

Eunice Shriver Critically Ill

(Newser) - Eunice Shriver, the 88-year-old sister of Sen. Ted Kennedy, is in intensive care in a Massachusetts hospital, the Cape Cod Times reports. The Special Olympics founder has been in the hospital for a week and is in critical but stable condition. Her family, including daughter Maria Shriver and son-in-law Arnold...

Palin Rips Obama for Special Olympics Comment

Governor shocked by president's 'degrading' quip

(Newser) - Sarah Palin has waded into the fray over President Obama's Special Olympics clunker, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The Alaska governor, whose youngest son has been diagnosed with Down Syndrome, said she was shocked to hear Obama say his bad bowling "was like the Special Olympics." She called...

Special Olympics Champ Challenges First Bowler

He's confident he can outroll the President

(Newser) - Kolan McConiughey says he’s confident he can beat Barack Obama in a bowling matchup, despite the president’s recent improvement to a score of 129. The Special Olympics champion, who has three perfect games on his record and averages 266, tells TMZ that "he’s cool, but he...

Apologetic Obama Invites Special Olympic Athletes

He reaches out after gaffe on Leno

(Newser) - The head of the Special Olympics said today that Barack Obama called to apologize for his cringe-inducing gaffe on the Tonight Show, even before the episode aired last night, the AP reports. "He apologized in a way that was very moving," Tim Shriver told ABC. "He expressed...

Prez Trips Up With Special Olympics Gaffe

Major flak expected for Tonight Show quip on his clutzy bowling

(Newser) - President Obama is expected to be zinged by critics today after a quip he made about his bad bowling and the Special Olympics during the taping of yesterday's Tonight Show appearance, ABC News reports. "I scored a 129," the president said when Jay Leno asked him if the...

Wrong, Lefties: Palin Didn't Cut Special Olympics Dollars

Declining huge budget increase, Alaska Gov. authorized 10% boost instead

(Newser) - Sarah Palin did not cut funding to the Special Olympics in Alaska, as many have said, professors Warren Throckmorton and Paul Kengor write in the National Review. In fact, this year she approved an increase in funding, from $250,000 to $275,000. Lawmakers had asked for $550,000, perhaps...

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