Australian Ninja Warrior Made Fans Furious Over Treatment of Deaf Contestant

Australian Ninja Warrior is that latest sports show to hit our TV screens and is proving to be popular viewing. But, even with high viewing numbers, the shows’ latest episode has upset fans for their treatment of a deaf contestant.

Cricketer Paul Cashion competed on the show and, during an interview, said,

“I want all deaf people and all people with impairments to see me tonight and think that they can be on the show too”.

Unfortunately, Cashion was disqualified early in his attempt at the obstacle course after his foot slipped into the water, causing a siren to sound and signifying his disqualification.

This, however, went unnoticed by a deaf Cashion, as he attempted to proceed with the obstacle course. He was however stopped by his stepson, who managed to get his attention and sign to him what had happened.

It was this moment that stunned a live audience and home viewers alike, with the home viewers taking to Twitter to express their thoughts on what happened to Cashion, with some saying:

“They literally just used someone’s disability to push the show, and then go and embarrass him like that. Absolutely fucked. ‪#NinjaWarriorAU”— @bvlmabriefs

“Channel 9 are going to go out and kick a puppy now … after kicking out the deaf guy for a technicality. ‪#ninjawarriorau”— @inflammatorydev

And, “The clear issue is they production company did not have clear communication in place for the contestant, & they should have ‪#NinjaWarriorAU”— @BMac_TLDR

Clearly, and understatedly, people were upset with Channel 9 for not making adjustments to be more accommodating of Cashion’s disability.