Analysis Of Derrick Coleman s The Baltimore Seahawks

Introduction Derrick Coleman plays for the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. He is the first deaf football player to play in an offensive position. Derrick Coleman’s Story to Success At the age of three, Derrick Coleman started using hearing aids. His deafness is due to a genetic, incurable hearing impairment (Friend par. 9). His dream has always been to play American football, despite growing up with people telling him that he would not achieve his dream. As a child, Derrick Coleman was constantly being bullied for talking different from his classmates. The bullying would include name-calling, such as â€Å"four ears† or even yanking out his hearing aids (Friend par. 7). Derrick Coleman learned early on that his disability did not mean he was incapable. All he had to do was to put a lot of effort into it. He worked twice harder than the rest of his classmates, and he did the same while playing sports (Drovetto par. 10). Thanks to his father, who pushed Derrick Coleman to play sports, Derrick was provided with opportunities to be judged for his abilities rather than his disability. At first, Derrick’s mother refused resisted his intentions to play football. She feared Derrick’s hearing aids would fly out on impact whole playing football. Derrick’s father, on the other hand, was convinced that football would be the way for their son to have a normal life. He feared that Derrick might respond to all the heckling through fighting and felt