Josiah Winans’ biggest victory as a college athlete came Wednesday morning when the NAIA reversed a discriminatory policy that prevented Winans, a legally-blind offensive lineman at Arizona Christian University, from playing football with a tinted visor.
Winans, who has been forced to miss most of this season, has been cleared to wear the visor in games beginning immediately, according to ACU coach Jeff Bowen.
"I'm very relieved and excited," Winans said. "It’s been crazy. it’s hard to go to practice and put in the work,when you know you’re not going to be able to compete in the game. But part of me knows that I have to help those guys (teammates) get better."
The appeal was considered by the NAIA’s national administrative council, which is comprised of officials from individual conferences an at-large members. That group, Bowen said, tends to be "more cognizant of student needs" than others connected to the NAIA.
Apparently, publicity about Winans' plight and the intervention of a lawyer from the Arizona Center for Disability Law caused the NAIA to consider an appeal from Winans, which for months the NAIA declined to do.
NAIA officials were not immediately available to explain the policy reversal.
Winans, who played at Greenway High, has ocular albinism and nystagmus, a rare genetic condition that substantially limits his vision and makes his extremely sensitive to light. He can't drive and wears dark glasses and a hat in daytime.
Winans requires a dark tinted shield in the football helmet to reduce photosensitivity.
But that's against the rules, according to the NAIA, which follows the NCAA football rulebook.
The applicable rule states that eye shields must be clear, not tinted. Eyeglasses and goggles also must be clear and not tinted. Winans has difficult wearing contacts because of the nystagmus, a condition that causes the eyes to make rapid and uncontrolled movement.
The NCAA rule, which the NAIA followed, ends with these five words: No medical exceptions are allowed.
It’s that sentence that was the sticking point with Winans and his efforts to play college football.
In high school, the AIA made an exception to allow Winans to play. The NFL also allows players to wear dark shields for medical reasons.
Those organizations realize what those who wrote the rule covering tinted eye shields did not: the law requires colleges to provide student with disabilities equal opportunities to services.
Chris Carlsen, the lawyer, pointed this out to the NAIA in a letter sent on Oct. 15.
Eight days later, the NAIA did the right thing.
Finally.
ACU has only tree games left. Winans likely will redshirt this season, but at least he won’t have to go through this process again.
His immediate plan was to practice Wednesday afternoon and then celebrate with his family.
"We will probably go to dinner and enjoy it," he said.
Reach Kent Somers at Kent.Somers@gannett.com. Follow him on twitter @kentsomers.
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