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June 23, 2023
On April 4, 2023, Eli A. Wolff, a pioneering leader on disability sport, social change and sports and human rights, sadly passed away at the age of 45. Eli was a staunch supporter and friend of Beyond Sport and a true collaborator. Among his many achievements include helping to establish the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, representing the United States at the 1996 and 2004 Paralympic Games in soccer, and advocacy for the inclusion of sport-related provisions in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
To honor his memory, his family and the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) is creating an endowed memorial fund to support emerging scholars and activists who believe in improving opportunities for athletes with disabilities and creating meaningful change. The Eli A. Wolff Memorial Fund for Disability Justice in Sport intends to create a new generation of leaders and changemakers that will carry on Eli’s work and legacy in perpetuity.
Proceeds will be used to support scholarships and research grants for undergraduate and doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows and early career faculty who are working to advance disability sport in:
- Inclusion
- Intersectionality with other underrepresented groups
- Sport for development
- Policy and Advocacy
- Public Education
When he was just a child, Eli suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed and led to discrimination and exclusion. He found solace in sport, where he had deep skill and passion for soccer. “Soccer was the place where I could really feel free, a safe place,” Eli told the Boston Globe in 2007. “Even at an early age, I was in the zone when I was running. My body would loosen up.”
The program will be managed by NASSS and applications will be reviewed by sport for development scholars along with representatives of Eli’s family. Recipients will be announced at the NASSS Annual Meetings – this year’s 38th edition taking place from October 18-21 in Los Angeles, California. They will also have an opportunity to present the results of their work during the session.
You can support and donate to the Eli A. Wolff Memorial Fund for Disability Justice in Sport HERE.
Eli was on Beyond Sport’s first advisory board, and we owe a lot to him in the advancement of sport as a tool for creating meaningful change. It was our privilege to have known him and we will truly miss him.
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