The Garland City Council recently voted to change the name of the city’s skatepark from The Boneyard to The Jon Comer Skatepark. Comer, who died in 2019, was the first amputee to become a professional skateboarder and was an inspiration to many. The Garland native was often referred to as the Godfather of Adaptive Skating and garnered the respect and friendship of many other pro skaters.
The request for the name change became very public when professional skateboarder Tony Hawk asked for it in a video to the city council. As more people became aware of Hawk’s video, the number of those in favor of the change increased quickly. Comer’s family, as well as friends and fans from around the country began a campaign to honor him by changing the
name of the skatepark.
In the video, Hawk called Comer a pioneer in skating and a huge inspiration to adaptive athletes. He added that naming the park in Comer’s honor would solidify his legacy and be an inspiration for other skaters.
Phone calls were made, and letters and emails were sent to City Council members. In addition, people attended Parks Board meetings and City Council meetings to plead their case. Petitions were started and circulated. The hard work paid off. Not only will the name of the park be changed, the city will also host an adaptive skating event.
As the first pro skater with a prosthetic leg, Comer represented endless possibilities to others with disabilities.
He was only 4 years old when his foot was run over by a car. When he was 7 years old, doctors said that the best course of action would be amputation. He began skateboarding at 12 and turned pro at 21.
The skateboarder was the subject of a 2004 award-winning documentary entitled, “Never Been Done.” Fellow skaters including Hawk, Mike Vallely and Steve Caballero appeared in the documentary.
In an interview with the Canadian publication Faze, before the release of the documentary, Comer sent message to those who feel that life isn’t going their way, “Crap happens. Get over it.”
The skatepark is in District 5, which is represented by Council Member Margaret Lucht. She acknowledged that the community should have been included when the park was named.
“We failed our stakeholders by not including them in the naming process,” she said. “We have a real opportunity here to recognize somebody who significantly contributed to human betterment and to fulfill the requests of dedicated users of the park.”
District 1 Council Member Jeff Bass agreed.
“We did not do our research. We did not involve stakeholders…I really feel like what we are talking about here…is going back and fixing what we should have done right the first time,” he said.