Inclusive Basketball Shines: A Star on Wheels Showcases the Impact of Inclusion
CUNY Student Shines at Expanded Wheelchair Basketball World University Games
The 2025 Summer World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, marked a significant expansion for wheelchair basketball with the debut of 3×3 wheelchair basketball as an official medal event. The competition included eight men's and eight women's teams, all playing at the accessible and spectator-friendly Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum from July 17 to 20, 2025.
This was the first time Para Sports were included in the FISU World University Games Summer program, highlighting increased commitment to inclusivity and accessibility in global university sports. The event ran alongside initiatives like the FISU World Conference that focus on inclusivity discussions in sport.
However, no public sources currently detail the participation or representation of CUNY (City University of New York) athletes in wheelchair basketball or other Paralympic sports at the 2025 Games.
Despite this, one CUNY student, Anesia Glascoe, played for the U.S. women's wheelchair basketball team in the games. Glascoe, a former college basketball player, was left paralyzed from the waist down due to a shooting in 2021. After months of intensive rehabilitation, she regained some mobility, allowing her to walk short distances with a brace.
Glascoe started playing wheelchair basketball after her rehab therapist suggested it, and it brought her to tears due to the challenges it presented. But her determination paid off, and she became a star player on the rehab hospital's traveling team.
In the World University Games, Glascoe fell from her chair and bruised her shoulder after colliding with an opposing player but bounced back to lead the American team in points and rebounds for the tournament. The U.S. men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams brought home bronze medals from the games.
Ryan Martin, the head of CUNY's adaptive sports program, coached the U.S. men's wheelchair basketball team in the games. In 2022, Martin reached out to Glascoe and encouraged her to consider going back to school at CUNY. Glascoe, who excelled academically, enrolled at Queensborough Community College as a liberal arts major with plans to resume her pursuit of a social work degree.
As we mark the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we celebrate the progress made in giving equal access, opportunity, and support for students with disabilities, including nearly 10,000 who attend CUNY campuses. Glascoe's story exemplifies CUNY's commitment to students with disabilities.
References:
- World University Games 2025
- FISU World Conference
- 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball at World University Games 2025
- Results and Coverage of the 2025 Summer World University Games
- Anesia Glascoe, a CUNY student, demonstrates the importance of education-and-self-development and athleticism through her participation in wheelchair basketball, excelling in the 2025 World University Games.
- Balancing her academic pursuits at CUNY with her passion for sports, Anesia Glascoe, a former college basketball player, showcased her resilience on the wheelchair basketball court during the 2025 World University Games in Germany.
