Members of IFAPA were deeply saddened to learn of Eli Wolff’s recent passing.
Eli was a monumental advocate, mentor, and friend to all and in particular as it relates to equity, diversity and equality for persons with disability. Eli was the co-founder and co-host of the Steadward Talks and was a member of the US Paralympic team. This only begins to scratch the surface of his contributions as he supported a multitude of disability organizations and initiatives and founded a myriad of institutes and collectives. He was an incubator and catalyst of ideas that will have global legacies and impact and his reach will be felt for generations to come. Perhaps most importantly, Eli was a genuinely kind and generous person who only saw the good in others. He was a proud father, committed and loving husband and loyal friend. He will be profoundly and deeply missed.
For people who would like to share memories, tributes or photos, the following site can be used. https://www.inmemori.com/ewolff-u12zk
Eli Wolf giving talk at ISAPA 2015
Elia Wolff and David Legg At the United Nations
COSP with Eli Wolff and David Legg
The Sport and Human Rights community mourns the loss of a true champion, Eli A. Wolff, who passed away on April 4, 2023.
Educator, innovator, advocate, athlete, leader, husband, father, and friend, Eli embodied the Olympic spirit. He delicately connected the worlds of human rights and sport like no other person has done.
Eli held many professional accomplishments. Notably, he helped establish the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace and ensured sport was included in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In 2000, he established the ESPY Award for Best Male and Female Athlete with a Disability.
Thanks to Eli’s petitioning, a collection of national disability sport organizations supported professional golfer Casey Martin in his successful landmark case against the PGA before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2001. He would be fundamental in helping draft the US Office of Civil Rights’ Dear Colleague Letter of January 25, 2013 amending the requirements for equity and inclusion for students with disabilities in school-based sport. His dogged advocacy also led to Major League Baseball changing the name of its “Disabled List” to being renamed its “injured reserve list” in 2019.
Eli was an instructor with the Sport Management program at the University of Connecticut and co-directed the Power of Sport Lab, a platform to fuel and magnify innovation, inclusion, and social change through sport. He also co-founded Disability in Sport International, Athletes for Human Rights, and the Olympism Project.
Eli was a United States Paralympic Soccer Team member at the 1996 and 2004 Paralympic Games. A graduate of Brown University, Eli earned an MA in Olympic Studies from the German Sport University of Cologne.
Eli was married to his beloved wife, Cheri Blauwet, and leaves behind two beautiful young children, Stella and Spencer, his partners in adventures, sports, and arts. Nothing made him prouder in the last few years than sharing his adventures with his kids and showing his kids the world.
A funeral will be held on April 10, 2023 outside Boston and a virtual memorial will be held for the public in late April.
In lieu of flowers, the family will be establishing a scholarship fund in Eli’s honor and will share more details as they become available.
In the meantime, family, friends, and colleagues are invited to share tributes and photos of Eli through an online memorial at https://link.inmemori.com/jO2JZ2.
May his memory be a blessing.
A Virtual Memorial of Eli Wolff will be held on
Friday, April 28, 2023
9-10:30 a.m. (ET)
Register through Webex
