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“Every important change in our society, for the good, at least, has taken place because of popular pressure-pressure from below, from the great mass of people.”- Edward Abbey.

Advocacy means different things to different people, and today, equity and equality are in the news a great deal. Advocating for fairness, at least to me, supersedes all other kinds of advocacy, it is a crusade.

This story is about a time my son and I advocated for change, for a fair outcome, and left behind a benefit that hundreds or maybe even thousands of people in the past 20 years have enjoyed. It is also a story of mismanagement, but that is less important with more obvious lessons.

That's the thing about change, once it's changed, it's changed. As you will see, we started out simply wanting to go to a football game in a new stadium. We weren’t being treated fairly, so we did something about it with a lot of help from others who used their resources and commitment to fairness to make a difference.

The key lessons in the following narrative? I think it is that when it is 'only a job' motivation is not always enough, but when it is your life, motivation usually is more than enough. The object is to get to the goal line, to finish the drive.

In the summer of 2000, the Cincinnati Bengals were about to open a brand-new stadium, a gift from the taxpayers of Hamilton County in Ohio, as an incentive to stay in Cincinnati. Threatening to leave town was a pretty popular business model for NFL teams in the 1990’s.

As local residents, we followed the ballot measure, the funding, the construction, and eagerly awaited the first exhibition game so we could see inside the multi-million-dollar edifice. (Apologies, but I’ve always wanted to use the word ‘edifice’ in a sentence and now I can cross it off my bucket list.)

Because my son uses a wheelchair to get around, we have been in the habit of pre-scouting everywhere we go for the first time: restaurants, venues, and stadiums. We look first for parking and then for overall accessibility. Imagine our surprise when we learned that there was no handicapped parking for this brand-new stadium! See, you are surprised too, and you probably have half the knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act that we possess.

(The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in admission or access to, or in the administration of, programs, services, and activities for the public.)

The situation was that the stadium was built on public land and managed by the Bengals. The parking lots around the stadium were also on county land but managed separately. Following me so far?

The county (or the Bengals, I’m not sure which), sold Season Parking Passes with their Season Tickets and if there were 100 spaces in a lot, they sold 100 Season Parking Passes, without regard to handicapped parking. That’s right, the right number of handicapped spaces were painted on the asphalt, but not available to handicapped fans and used by fans without placards or license plates. 100 spaces = 100 season parking passes without regard to disability status.

The team’s theme was ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ but it appeared that those with disabilities were ‘Unwelcome in the Jungle.’

Having lots of experience at being underestimated, I went right to work

And if you know me, you also know that I kept a meticulous log of the two-dozen people I spoke to: date, time, and response. The local ABC Television station really appreciated my recordkeeping when I provided my log to them, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

I called the Bengals one more time, because a friend had a contact there, and if you can’t come in through the front door, I a side door is good, before you knock the doors down.

I happened to be donating blood when the Bengals called me back. In the spirit of compromise, I suggested to this executive that if there were no more spaces, that perhaps a remote lot or a downtown garage with a shuttle to the stadium would work well, just like the University of Cincinnati used for their events to accommodate handicapped parkers.

When the he told me that they wouldn’t do that because we’d blame them if we missed the kick-off, little did he know the fuse he ignited or that the blood tech had to grab my arm to keep the needle in.

I told him he didn’t have a chance. When he asked what I meant, I simply said: “to you, it’s only a job, but to us, it’s our life. You’ll give up. We won’t.”

Remember, news of the stadium opening was THE big news in Cincinnati, and everyone talked about it all the time: at lunch, at social events, on sports talk radio, it was everywhere. I personally had three rather innocent conversations that turned out to have a big impact.

First, I was talking to the General Manager of a local radio station. He knew my son used a wheelchair and when I told him what I had been up to he volunteered to have the station rent a parking lot and provide a shuttle to the games as a public service. Of course, I agreed, and of course, I went on the radio and talked about the issue and thanked them for their generosity. WARM-98. Dan Swenson. A great guy who created the first domino.

Third, the President and General Manager of the ABC station, Channel 9, was on a non-profit board with me, and in casual conversation I mentioned the situation and he thought it would be a good topic for his investigative group, the I-Team, to take on as a project. When I told him about my documentation, that sealed the deal. WCPO. Bill Fee. A very big domino was set up.

Here’s how the dominos were knocked down:

The parking lot that the radio station donated went into effect for the second game. It was used and reported on. People seemed happy with the solution, and I think the Hamilton County commissioners and the Bengals may have crossed this ‘issue’ off their list of problems as ‘solved.’ Not so fast.

Next, I was booked on drive time sports talk radio show on WLW to call in for a 10-minute segment. I had the private number that guests use to call in: it was very cool.

Much to my surprise, the host started taking calls and before I knew it, my ten-minute segment turned into a 90-minute talk-fest with callers, ranging from wounded veterans, to senior citizens, to other disabled families, checking in, and of course supporting the cause. You could feel the momentum building. Lots of people who knew me, heard me and reached out. Shortly after that, Channel 9 did an introductory piece to their investigative ‘series.' It outlined the issue, the problem, and some of my efforts.

That next Sunday, I met a videographer at the television station, he hopped in the passenger seat of my van, and during the game, when the lots were packed, I talked my way into every single parking lot around the stadium and he captured on video either empty handicapped spaces that could have been used, or even better/worse (take your pick) video clips of cars in handicapped spaces that didn’t have a placard or a plate authorizing the use of such a space.

When that story ran on Monday night during the 6 and 11 newscasts, the fan started spinning, if you know what I mean, and I knew it was just a matter of time.

On Tuesday, a Cincinnati newspaper called me and wanted us to come to the stadium for an interview and photo for a story to run later that week.

Wednesday, a high county official called me after the whirlwind of publicity: it continued to be a hot topic on sports talk radio every day and the TV station was promoting the 'I-Team' Investigation around the clock.

I remember our conversation like it was yesterday because I was a little over the line on the belligerence scale. Remember: it was our life, and just his job.

I don't really know why I said that, or where it came from. What I knew was that it was time to fix the problem.

The next day, I got a call from the same official who wanted to share with me that the Suite Holder lot on Second Street at Pete Rose Way, the one closest to the stadium, would be converted to a Handicapped Parking Lot before the next game. With 100 spaces. It was the next to the last domino. (Penultimate? Is that the right word?)

The newspaper story ran on Friday, and instead of more advocacy, it was more of a victory or celebration article.

I had a lot of email appreciation, and of course the topic was still buzzing on sports talk radio.

On game-day, we loaded up our van, and brought friends and family to tailgate in the new lot. Dan Swenson from WARM 98 stopped by, and I think Bill Fee from Channel 9 visited as well. The TV station may even have done a recap story.

While tailgating I called the pre-game show, hosted by Andy Furman, thanked him live on the air and shared the good news. He said they should name the lot the Ed Doherty Memorial Lot. I told him I was still alive but thanked him again for his help. WLW. Andy Furman, advocate for fairness.

To this day, that lot remains in use for those in wheelchairs, disabled men, women, and children, and those who just can’t walk that far, and the phrase ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ continues to apply to all fans.

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