He reviews stadiums for people who use wheelchairs. Now, he aims to help Arrowhead
Dec. 18, 2011, was the day Jerod Nieder entered an entirely new life as a member of the wheelchair community.
On vacation with family, Nieder was excited to get into the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea off the coast of the white, sandy beaches of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. So excited, that he dove into the water headfirst, landing directly on a sandbar.
His dive crushed his C-5 vertebrae, immediately paralyzing him from the head down, making him a quadriplegic and giving him a new constant companion in the form of his motorized wheelchair.
At the time, Nieder was a single man in his 30s, working in his family’s construction business in Lawrence. His injury made him dependent on family and friends, needing assistance for the simplest tasks in life like putting on clothes and using the bathroom.
But Nieder’s injuries didn’t stop him from doing one of his favorite activities: attending sporting events.
“That was something that me and my dad really did together a lot,” Nieder said. His great-uncle, Bill Nieder, is a Kansas Sports Hall of Famer as a 1955 national champion for the University of Kansas and a 1960 gold medalist for the United States Olympic team as a shotputter.
Nieder and his family are big fans of University of Kansas basketball and the Kansas City Chiefs, and also enjoy going to concerts. He went to Super Bowl LIV in Feb. 2020 with his wife to watch the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Miami, among numerous sporting events they’ve attended together.
“That’s the kind of person I still am,” Nieder said. “Even though I have a disability, and even though those things are challenging, and they do look a little different now, I’m still that guy. I just move around differently, and I still want to enjoy those things.”
As Nieder continued his sports fandom as a member of the wheelchair community, he would call ahead to clarify parameters set up by stadiums to ensure the smoothest process of getting to his seat in a sports arena. He’d be surprised if he received any response.
“I reach out to the venues from the very beginning, it’s really hard getting contacts at the venues and getting somebody to respond to you,” Nieder said.
Even looking to purchase handicapped tickets is difficult, Nieder said, crediting Ticketmaster with having ADA seating readily available at venues.
“But a lot of times I select accessible tickets, and there’s just none available,” he said.
“So that is the big problem is that a lot of events I would like to go to, one, there’s either not tickets available, or two, tickets they have available are like, the very top row. I went to the Big 12 Tournament, and I was looking at the top of the scoreboard. I see all the dust top of the scoreboard. That’s not fun for me, if I have a better view on my TV.”
Nieder has documented his travels to sporting events, concerts and any other trips in his life to his social media accounts, aptly named Positively Paralyzed. On the account, Nieder motivates other wheelchair-bound community members while giving reviews of the accessibility of sports stadiums to educate others in wheelchairs and to spread awareness to the venues and teams.
Nieder’s review and social media notoriety, with more than 25,000 followers on his Instagram account, have helped him gain consulting jobs, even teaching a fitness class for the University of Utah. Nieder’s injury resulted in several medical procedures and a stimulator placed in his spine, making him something of an expert in the spinal cord field of medicine, allowing him to secure more consulting jobs, he said.
And now his stadium reviews have resulted in a partnership with Roll Mobility, an app that lets users rate the accessibility of buildings and venues like Arrowhead for wheelchair users.
It was a no-brainer for Nieder to partner with the company, which is offering him and a friend equity in the company, because they share a similar mission of making the world more accessible, co-founder Joe Foster said.
Foster, with a background in physical therapy and work with the United States Paralympic team, created the app with co-founder Shane Blandford, who has a tech background, on a bar napkin after both wanted to create a resource for disabled people to evaluate the environments they frequent.
“(It’s the) intersection between technology and people being willing to leave reviews and do things like that,” Foster told The Star. “Why don’t we create something better so that people can get information from other people who have this lived experience, instead of calling ahead and counting on maybe somebody knows what accessibility looks like or not.”
Having lived in Louisville, Kentucky, for the past decade surrounded by caregivers, including his now-wife, Nieder had developed a routine for going to some sporting venues, like the KFC Yum! Center, which hosts University of Louisville basketball games. Nieder lived a few blocks from the arena and would roll there from his home often enough that he got a routine down, making his game experience much easier.
But visiting other venues could be another matter entirely, and one of Nieder’s most recent reviews was of his experience at Arrowhead Stadium, and the issues he encountered there.
While he said it was positive overall, Nieder pointed out some flaws in the stadium’s accessibility policies that will need tinkering to be wholly accessible for wheelchair users.
Nieder’s experience at Arrowhead
Nieder and his wife, Hanna, got upgraded parking passes when they went to watch the Chiefs play the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 28.
Once at the stadium though, Arrowhead staff told them to park at a satellite lot and wait for an American Disabilities Act bus to take them to an entrance, according to Nieder’s video documenting his experience.
The only issue was the “bus” was a standard golf cart unequipped to transport a wheelchair. After talking with staff, Nieder and his wife were escorted to park in a non-parking space to get them close to the entrance.
In the video, Nieder said he didn’t see a single wheelchair user as he passed more than 100 people at the ADA entrance and at his ADA seating section. He understands all disabilities are not visible, but scolded fans who take seats that are reserved for wheelchair users.
“The abuse is obvious, and I’m really sick of able-bodied people stealing our seats. You know who you are and shame on you,” Nieder said in the video.
Nieder told The Star he blames himself for getting there late; as a wheelchair user, early is always better to battle traffic and parking arrangements.
The Chiefs have solid accessibility policies, Nieder said, and he enjoyed his experience. But the staff was undertrained and uninformed, which forced them to have to scramble to find accommodations for Nieder’s condition.
“They were really great about accommodating things, but... the whole thing was a hassle,” Nieder said. “Nobody knew what to do with me or how to handle somebody like me.
“That’s what really breaks my heart is that you can’t just go and have an experience like this and try to blame the stadium. We have to work together to make this better.”
According to the CDC, 28.7% of adults in the United States have a disability. 12.2% of U.S. adults have a mobility disability with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.
The Chiefs have their accessibility services for the stadium on their website, which include accessible parking, which is available on a first-come, first-served basis, as well as sensory rooms and policies on service animals. The organization also sent a statement to The Star emphasizing their pledge to be an accepting environment for all fans.
“We are committed to creating an inclusive and enjoyable experience for every fan at every event at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium,” the team said in its statement. “We’re proud of the accommodations we offer and continue to evolve through guest feedback and operational advancements that help us better serve our community.
“Staff training is a cornerstone of our approach, and we strive to educate every team member while recognizing that continued learning is essential to delivering exceptional service. Fans in need of assistance are encouraged to contact our Fan Experience department should they want additional information or to discuss our accessibility services.”
Nieder said he hasn’t gotten in contact with anyone from the Chiefs yet, but he would love to talk with them to give them feedback on their policies.
And while the paralysis he contends with daily is rough on his body, Nieder said, it’s also hard on his spirit, and he said it was a long process to become as positive as he remains.
But it helps to know his influence in the wheelchair and sports community is growing as he aims to work with sports stadiums about accessibility issues and to spread awareness, instead of spreading criticism.
“I didn’t have the resources I needed. So I became one of the resources,” Nieder said.
“As much as I hate being paralyzed, and I really do. I really do hate being paralyzed. I love the journey that I’m on, and I love the direction my life is going.”
This story was originally published October 30, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
