Wheelchair basketball player and coach Stephanie Wheeler has been inducted into the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Hall of Fame. She is one of five inductees included in the 2018 Hall of Fame class.
Wheeler has accomplished some incredible feats in wheelchair basketball, including three Paralympic gold medals — two as a player and one as a coach — and national championships as a player at two schools, the Univ. of Alabama and Univ. of Illinois. She is now a coach at the Univ. of Illinois.
“I feel so grateful to have been inducted into the NWBA HOF,” Wheeler told Ousports. “It was an honor to have the opportunity to publicly tell the incredible people in my life who made that moment happen how grateful I am for them and all they have taught and given me. I had family, friends, student-athletes, former coaches, mentors, and my partner there. To be able to say “thank you” and share a moment of gratitude with each of them is something that I will never forget.
Wheeler, who identifies as a lesbian, said she did not miss the opportunity to talk about the power of what makes each of us different.
“It also gave me a platform to let young athletes know that while the world may be telling you now that you don’t fit because of who you are, it will change, and you will someday have the opportunity to be great precisely because you don’t fit into what the world expects of you.”
Congratulations Stephanie Wheeler on your well-earned induction into the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Hall of Fame.
