Seattle Seahawks FB Derrick Coleman is the first NFL player that is legally deaf and continues to impress his fans for overcoming his adversities. At the age of three Coleman was diagnosed, but did not let his obstacle get in the way of playing football.
In a recent commercial Coleman described to the world that it is possible to overcome the odds; “They told me it couldn’t be done. That I was a lost cause. I was picked on. And picked last,” Coleman. ” They gave up on me. Told me I should just quit.”
Coleman didn’t give up his dream and now he is playing this Sunday in the Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos. “You can always make something work if you really put your mind to it,” Coleman said. “You can definitely achieve it and that’s why when people say I can’t do something, I know that I probably can or will at least try my best to get it done and if I don’t, at least I tried.”
He taught himself to read lips because even his powerful hearing aids weren’t always enough.“ I can rely on reading lips. That’s the advantage that most people don’t have. They don’t know how to read lips — like when the hearing goes out what do you do? They kind of freak out, Coleman said.”
Coleman has inspired so many people with his talents and the way that he has dedicated his self to the game of football.”I knew I was going to be able to touch some people, and that the hearing-impaired and deaf community – that it would get to them. … but I am happy that it did,” he told The Seattle Times.
To overcome the odds of being successful, you have to want it more than anybody else and that is what Coleman did, he didn’t quit just because people said that he had a disability; he was motivated by the game of football and pushed himself.
“You can’t use your problem as an excuse. Because you use an excuse, you’re not going to get to your dream says Coleman.”
