English (1)

Gary, a former high school football player and Paralympian, discusses his experiences on a podcast. He initially had mixed feelings about his racially integrated team but realized they could be successful. After becoming paralyzed and unable to play football, he felt lost but eventually found purpose in competing in the Paralympics, where he won a medal. Winning the medal gave him a sense of empowerment and proved that he could overcome his injury. Hello everyone and welcome back to FM 104. Today we are joined with special guest Gary. For some of the people out there that don't know who you are, please introduce yourself. Hi everyone, my name is Gary. I played for the Titans while I was in high school and then I joined the Paralympics. I'm here on this podcast to share my experiences. What was your first impressions with your newly racially integrated team at the time? I didn't know how to feel at the time because my team has never been mixed race before. I was mad at the start because I wanted to keep my team the same as an all white team. But when I got to know everyone more, I knew we were going to be a winning team. How did you feel after being paralysed knowing you couldn't play football anymore? It was the most sad I've ever felt. I wanted to play football more than anything and then I couldn't anymore. I didn't know what to do or what I was going to do in the future. But after a while I knew that I needed to keep playing sports so I competed in the Paralympics and I won. How did you feel after winning an Olympic medal? I was very happy because when I got paralysed I felt like I was never going to be able to do anything again, especially sport. But when I won the medal I felt like I could do anything regardless of my injury. Thank you for being on the podcast Gary. Thank you for having me.