COAT advocates for accessibility and usability of technology for people with disabilities. Enacting the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (21st CVAA) was a huge step forward and we are working to implement this new law. COAT’s overall aim is to ensure accessibility, usability, and affordability of all broadband, wireless, and Internet technologies for people with disabilities.

COAT Affiliates Hit Home Run: Major League Baseball Websites Accessible for Vision Disabiliity

February 11, 2010: Thirty Major League Baseball websites will now be more accessible to people with vision disabilities as a result of a collaboration by Major League Baseball and several COAT affiliates. The American Council of the Blind, Bay State Council of the Blind and California Council of the Blind, via a structured negotiations process by the law office of Lainey Feingold, worked with MLB Advanced Media, manager and operator of the official Web sites for Major League Baseball, to ensure the team websites are accessible to people with vision disabilities. Linda Dardarian, Esq., of Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian, was also instrumental in this negotiations process.

Users of screen readers, users of magnification technologies, and users who rely on keyboards instead of a mouse to navigate through a website, will now have the same access as sighted people to games information, ticket sales, listening to both home and away broadcasters, voting, archives, and to other features on the website. MLB.com will use guidelines from the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium as an accessibility resource. The Disability Law Center in Boston MA, a Protection & Advocacy agency for people with disabilities, was also involved in this initiative

Additional information:

About the Structured Negotiation

MLB Advanced Media, contact Matthew Gould

Bay State Council of the Blind, contact Brian Charlson

American Council of the Blind, contact Mitch Pomerantz

While this is good step forward, specifically for people with vision disabilities, COAT remains concerned about accessibility for viewers of the websites who have hearing disabilities. Will MLB Advanced Media step up to the plate and bat out some video clips with captioning?

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COAT Affiliates Hit Home Run: Major League Baseball Websites Accessible for Vision Disabiliity

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