For many students, sports serve as a way to stay active, forge relationships, and cultivate important life skills such as teamwork and resilience. For Parker Timberman, however, wheelchair basketball is much more than that; it’s an opportunity to break down barriers, challenge misconceptions, and prove that physical disabilities do not define one’s potential.

Timberman was introduced to The Wheelchair Basketball Club by another IU student who had sustained a spinal cord injury. Encouraged to give the sport a try, Timberman has been an active member since his sophomore year. Upon arriving at IU as a transfer student, Timberman was determined to challenge societal stereotypes surrounding people with disabilities, aiming to show that they are just as capable of leading full and fulfilling lives as those without disabilities.

“I think society pushes that, you know, people with disabilities sit at home with food on their shirts and don’t do anything and you know, just like every college student, I like to go out to the bar with my friends, I like to, you know I like to go to the movies,” Timberman said.

Born prematurely and diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Timberman’s life has been shaped by numerous physical challenges. His condition affects his balance, motor skills, and depth perception, making many tasks more difficult. Yet, Timberman has never let these obstacles be at the forefront of his identity. Instead, he has focused on his abilities, particularly his dedication to wheelchair basketball, where he serves as the club president. Timberman frequently encounters misunderstandings and misconceptions, but instead of resenting them, he seeks to challenge and correct these views, advocating for a more nuanced understanding of what it means to live with a disability.

“People with disabilities aren’t fragile, you know, I come and play ball, you can foul me, you can hit me, just like everybody else and I’m not going to break.”

The Wheelchair Basketball Club, founded in 2017 by students Evan Davis, Cat Bouwkamp, and Associate Professor Jennifer Piatt, is the first and only adaptive sport offered at Indiana University. Open not only to students but also to faculty and members of the local community, the club’s primary mission is to dismantle the stigma surrounding disabilities while providing a platform for students to explore new experiences and broaden their perspectives.

Despite these inclusive efforts, Timberman has encountered challenges in recruiting new members. He attributes this, in part, to misconceptions about the sport, particularly the assumption that participants must already use a wheelchair to join. When Timberman invites others to join, many dismiss the idea, claiming they play “normal basketball” instead.

“I don’t get offended because a lot of it comes from ignorance, um, they just don’t know what they don’t know, or they have not been exposed, um, to people with disabilities,” Timberman said.

Still, the club has found support from members who, despite not having a disability, value the inclusive nature of the sport and the opportunity it offers to individuals who may not be able to participate in traditional sports due to their own personal reasons. This inclusivity allows participants to remain active, engaged, and connected to a team. One such member is Matthew Sheldon, who sustained a serious injury while playing football in high school, leaving him with a metal plate and several screws in his leg.

“I’ve been kind of afraid of other contact sports like that and there’s not really many ways I can get hurt in wheelchair basketball,” Sheldon said.

Through perseverance, dedication, and relentless commitment to challenging stereotypes, Timberman and his teammates continue to demonstrate that the potential for greatness is not limited by physical ability, but by societal perceptions.

“Just because someone might get around differently doesn’t mean they don’t live a full life,” Timberman said.