Courtside Seats have a Major privilege problem
ESPN ran a story over the long weekend about the celebrities who’ve been spotted in attendance at NBA playoff games this postseason. The story leads with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce attending Game 3 of the Cavaliers-Knicks series from Cleveland.
“The stars are out at the 2026 NBA playoffs,” ESPN wrote. “Given that opening slate of games included two matchups at Madison Square Garden and the Crypto.com Arena, it’s no surprise that the NBA playoffs had stars to spare off the bat. Celebrities have been a constant presence throughout the postseason, cheering on their favorite teams. Here are some of the biggest names in attendance in the postseason.”
Other celebs at various games include Martha Stewart, Michael J. Fox, and Eminem.
Believe it or not, there’s an accessibility angle to my choice to cover this news. It should be noted up front, however, I don’t begrudge people like Swift for attending a basketball game; these are people too who love their team(s) and want to be entertained and enjoy themselves. What makes their attendance special is precisely because they live atop society’s le gratin—they live along the upper crust, replete with the money to, in the case of Eminem and 50 Cent, pay for courtside seats during the last round’s Cavaliers-Pistons series. And that’s where the accessibility angle lies.
At sporting events and concerts, convention dictates the closer one wants to be to the action, the more expensive the tickets. It was reported this weekend two NBA Finals courtside seats at New York’s Madison Square Garden were purchased on StubHub for close to $280,000 in anticipation of the Knicks—currently holders of a 3–0 series lead over the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals—making their first Finals appearance since 1999. What does this mean? It means only the most affluent, wealthiest people in America—celebs included—can afford arguably the most accessible seats in the venue. It also means the majority of people, including those who are Blind and low vision, can’t access those seats because they’re exorbitantly expensive. Ipso facto, a Blind person will assuredly have a suboptimal experience—mainly because they aren’t haves like Taylor Swift or Martha Stewart who have knots.
This rankles me because courtside seats in particular are the most accessible seats in the whole arena. A person’s ability to pay shouldn’t preclude them from accessing those seats if, as a practical matter, the seats are the best way for them to enjoy the action. For Blind people specifically, there are devices from companies like OneCourt, which uses tactile pulses to track gameplay. The NBA’s Sacramento Kings uses them at Golden1 Center, which I covered last year. As good as OneCourt’s technology is, though, the fact remains the person probably still uses the device from a place pretty far flung from the court. Blindness is a spectrum after all, so it would be better if someone could use their OneCourt tablet from a closer vantage point. But, again, that isn’t going to happen unless you can pay for the privilege… of being closer to the game.
A year or two ago, ESPN’s Sam Borden reached out to me via email asking if I’d want to be interviewed for a story on people with disabilities attending live sporting events. I happily agreed, and while my comments didn’t make the published piece, I found participating a cathartic experience—and I was heartened that an able-bodied reporter like Borden was even thinking about such a subject. As a diehard sports fan, I don’t really like attending live events in part because I know the game will be relatively inaccessible. Much of the experience is sullied if, for instance, you have to keep asking the person sitting next to you what’s going on down on the field besides using crowd noise as a proxy. I have vision, and I would have much more agency if I, say, could sit behind home plate or the dugout because I’m closer to the action. I shouldn’t have to possess a six-figure bank ledger in order to attain that level of immersion; it’s not vanity… it’s accessibility. (See also: flying first class instead of settling for economy.)
I’m not arguing front-row seats be made free. I’m arguing it only makes sense some number of “accessible” seating be reserved in closer-in areas without an elitist price.
Celebs get good seats because they can. Disabled people should get them for need.
