Tuberville Speaks on Importance of Helping Veterans Heal Through Adaptive Sports

WASHINGTON - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) participated in a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (SVAC) hearing focused on helping our veterans heal through adaptive sports. During the hearing, Sen. Tuberville spoke with Julie Howell, Associate Legislative Director for Government Relations at Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Gabriel George, Director of Pickleball at Military Adaptive Court Sports.

Read Sen. Tuberville's remarks below or on YouTube or Rumble.

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks for all of you being here today and telling your story-it's very important. You know, as a former football coach, I've seen firsthand the positive impact sports can have on people's lives. And, as a committee, we should be doing everything we possibly can do to support alternative treatments for our veterans like adaptive sports programming.

Ms. Howell, in your testimony, you spoke about the importance of veterans gaining access to transportation to expand independence, and you referenced my Assist Act, and I thank you for that. [My bill] aims to expand access for automobile modifications for disabled veterans to participate in adaptive sports. A veteran has to be able to get there in the first place to be able to compete. And, so, we have to find some possible way to help out the veteran. So, how would my legislation help more veterans-in your thoughts-of being able to benefit from adaptive sports?"

HOWELL: "Thank you for the question, sir, and thank you for sponsoring that legislation. I think everyone here recognizes that the way the bill was implemented was not the intent. This is simply a technical fix to get it right. The language that was intended to be an example list ended up becoming an exhaustive list and so veterans across the country were running into barriers when it came to making an adaptive van instead of a vehicle. And, so, the way those facilities interpreted that understanding again, I just want to stress-this is just a technical fix. It seems so simple, and we are eagerly awaiting its passage, sir. Because like you said, adaptive sports are great. Getting to your VA facility is great. But some people need modifications to be able to get there. And, particularly for our veterans in rural communities, accessible transportation is really hard to find. And a lot of these folks live super rural, and their vehicle is the only vehicle that is gonna be able to get them there. So, let's make sure that they get the adaptations that are necessary for them to be able to not only go to their appointments, but get to something in their community that's gonna provide them increased mental health, increased physical access, and all of the things I mentioned earlier."

TUBERVILLE: "Exactly. Thank you. What's the biggest barriers your members faced when trying to participate in adaptive sports, other than this?"

HOWELL: "I'll echo the other witnesses in that, you know, in rural communities, it's rather challenging. You know, you can only go to so many places. There's only so many accessible hotel rooms for cities to host. We run into complications when it comes to finding a city large enough to host the wheelchair games. You need a convention center. You need enough hotels within a reasonable area that have ADA accessible hotels. That's a whole separate hearing talking about accessible hotel rooms. But these are serious challenges. You need a facility that can accommodate six hundred wheelchair users, and you don't really know what that means until you see it. It's quite the undertaking. And I think one policy area around the VA adaptive sports grant that maybe we could look at is the VA adaptive sports grant can be used to host adaptive events, recreation opportunities. It cannot be used for veteran travel to get to those events. So, veterans are on the hook for paying their own airfare. They're on their own for any kind of travel in between. And often, that's a barrier to entry for a lot of folks, especially coming from a rural community. So, imagine you're a veteran living in a highly rural area. You can't get your vehicle adapted, and there's no paratransit that can get you to the airport. Like, that's an entire opportunity gone. And then those are veterans that don't have the amazing stories that my fellow veterans here had today. It's all one thing after another."

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you. Mr. George, as a former coach, I saw firsthand the impact that team sports has on players' mental health. What are ways this committee can ensure veterans have access to and information about great programs like the one that rehabilitated you?"

GEORGE: "Great question. Communication. […] The way that got me informed about the actual VA's programs and some summer sports clinic was through my rec therapist. But, one thing I've realized, and even [am] working on with Max, how we partner with other veterans, we go directly to rec therapists, we try to find them-but there's a limit of them-of rec therapists. A lot of doctors don't even know what rec therapy is. They don't know that the VA has a rec therapy program. So, when I'm telling a vet, 'Hey, […] Talk to your doctor. Ask for an appointment. Once you [see your] doctor, tell them to refer you to rec therapy.' A lot of VAs don't even have them. In some areas, they're far out, there's no rec therapy program, there's nobody facilitating events for the veterans. So, that's why we come together and outside organizations are trying to help input those and get stuff started in the community."

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you. […] Ms. Howell, do you see adaptive sports as a form of alternative care to keep veterans away from [overprescribing] drugs?"

HOWELL: "Yes, sir. I would agree with that. We have-I think-on my desktop, I have like fourteen pages of quotes from PVA members talking about how the first time they went to the wheelchair games, they fought it. They fought it. They just wanted to sit at home and be left alone. And the introduction through rec therapists and the VA in adaptive sports is the thing that got them back into the light, if you will. We have countless accounts of veterans who with engaging in adaptive sports, they no longer have active suicidal ideation. They have decreased their dependence on mental health pharmaceuticals. They also end up building a community. Like, if you have no purpose, if you have no sense of belonging, what else-what are you doing? And so adaptive sports is like the very basic [thing] that we could offer to veterans who are struggling because it seems to overwhelmingly reintegrate them to not only their veteran community, but their broader community at home. I think it's a critical piece of the veteran puzzle."

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you."

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans' Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

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