Attention Sports Fans, Fight Song Lyrics Available Upon Request

By Eriq Gardner

Some good news for the sheet music industry.

Citing the Americans with Disabilities Act, U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams has ordered the Washington Redskins to provide its fans who can't hear very well with "equal access to aural content" in the team's stadium. That includes music lyrics, ads and other broadcasts on the public-address system.

"Now that the court has addressed it, we are exploring alternatives to provide the words to the songs played during cheerleader dance routines," said the team.

Joseph Espo, a lawyer for three Redskins fans who filed the lawsuit in 2006, says the ruling is likely to affect other sports venues.

Comments

[Matt]

If the demand were super low, FedEx/Skins could allow disabled fans to reserve an ipod touch for all sorts of lyrics and ads. And with controlled wifi the stadium could update the iTouch with play results, penalty results, stats, live captioned commentary, etc. This is a cool opportunity to take a leap forward out of moral and legal obligation.