“My friends gave me no slack at all,” says Paralympian wheelchair basketball player Matt Scott about his childhood. “If I was late on a double play, if I made a bad pass, they were all over me. They didn’t care if I was in a wheelchair. Nobody changed the rules for me.”
Scott, who was born with spina bifida, grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where he participated in a variety of sports alongside his able-bodied peers. Now a member of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wheelchair basketball squad, Scott has won four national championships. He was also recently selected to the Paralympic squad for the second time. The 23-year-old college senior attributes his achievements to a dedicated work ethic, and to a support structure of friends and family that never allowed him to use his disability as an excuse.
“My mother was always great. If I was whining, she had no sympathy. She really helped me create my independence by not babying me,” Scott said.
It was Scott’s independent nature and strong will, along with his on the court skills, that attracted the attention of America’s most influential sports apparel company, Nike. Nike was searching for an athlete with a disability that exemplified their “Just Do It” trademark, and after auditioning a handful of superstar athletes with disabilities, the company picked Scott to star in a 30 second commercial.
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