Derrick Coleman: "I didn't listen."

If you’re a football fan, you have probably heard of Derrick Coleman who plays for the Seattle Seahawks. However, you may not know that he is the first deaf offensive player in NFL history. Coleman has dealt with hearing loss almost his whole life. His mother noticed his speech was delayed and at age 3 was said to have a genetic hearing loss.

He has remained positive throughout his entire life and never succumbed to the bullying and common excuse of “I can’t do it.” This is partly due to how he was raised. Even with a hearing disorder at such a young age, Coleman’s parents never treated him any different. He went to a normal, public school and did not teach him sign language. They wanted him to assimilate into a “normal” world. They did, though, put him in speech therapy to help learn to speak and hear letters and sounds correctly.

Coleman is very grounded and humble. He doesn’t want to be known as the first deaf football player; he wants to be known as simply, a football player.

Coleman wears hearing aids on and off the field as well as read lips. He was also in a commercial which can be viewed below. The commercial highlight his struggles with bullying and being passed over for the 2012 draft. He stated here, “They told me I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t live my dream. But, I’ve been deaf since I was three, so I didn’t listen.”

He is a perfect example of never giving up and doing your best no matter what your situation.