Joe Soares

Who is Joe Soares?

Joe Soares is a former all-star wheelchair rugby player for the United States who later went on to coach the Canadian paralympic team after he was cut by the U.S in 1996. This episode figures prominently in the 2005 documentary film Murderball.

Soares was born into a poor family in Portugal, and moved to Providence, Rhode Island at the age of 11. Soares lost the use of his legs after contracting childhood polio at the age of 9 years old. He used crutches until he was in high school when he switched to a wheelchair because he says it gave him greater mobility and he said the girls liked it.

Soares began playing rugby in 1969 and, as of 2005, was the only player to have participated in 13 consecutive United States National Championships. He was a member of the champion U.S. wheelchair rugby team at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He was also a finalist in singles and a champion in doubles at the 1996 U.S. Open for wheelchair tennis in the Quad "A" Division.

Soares was cut from the U.S. team in 1996 and lost a lawsuit in an attempt to make a point soon after. Soares then applied to coach the United States team, but politics were against him and he was denied the opportunity. Due to wishing to continue with rugby Soares led the Canadian wheelchair rugby team to victory against the until then-undefeated United States team in Gothenburg, Sweden.