Falcons player reaches out to the deaf
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Falcons player reaches out to the deaf | ajc.com
The silence is a way of life. The nerves made for an uneasy moment.
Then one teenager broke the ice. His fingers moved quickly, but all remained quiet. Then an interpreter turned to Falcons defensive end Jamaal Anderson and verbally relayed the query.
"Do you sign?" was the first, and most important, question.
Anderson raised his right hand and motioned back to the student with his fingers to indicate the affirmative – with a catch.
"Not too good right now," Anderson said verbally and, for a few seconds, in sign language. "It's like a foreign language. If you take time off you get rusty. I have to get back at it. I guess I need to come back here more often."
Anderson addressed 28 senior high school students at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf in Clarkston on Wednesday for the first, but not the last, time, he said. He needed an interpreter to convey most of his message but said he hopes to go solo when he comes back.
Anderson grew up in Arkansas using sign language to communicate with his father, Glenn, who has been deaf since childhood. He told the students how his father never used his impairment as an excuse, but instead used it as a strength to become a scholar and teacher.
Anderson combined his father's story with his personal trials of having to walk on to the University of Arkansas football team. He became good enough to be selected eighth overall in the 2007 NFL draft by the Falcons. The story brought the students to the edge of their seats. They couldn't stop asking questions about how he made it and if they actually stood a chance.
Lavan Hood, 17, plays on the football team at Tri-Cities High, and he's a defensive end like Anderson. His hopes of playing pro football were raised after spending just more than a half-hour with the 6-foot-6, 278-pound Anderson
"I've never seen it before, a famous person; it was very fascinating because my goal is to be in the NFL," Hood said through interpreter Lorraine Walker, a teacher and basketball coach at the school. "It's cool to have somebody who can relate to us come here for the first time. That means a lot."
That Anderson is a Falcons football player was one thing. That he understands their plight increased admiration.
"Him being able to sign to them a little bit, you could see their eyes light up and them kind of take a posture like 'OK, he can sign. This is for real,'?" school director Cynthia Ashby said. "Our school gets overlooked a little bit, and to have an athlete of his level give us this type of attention was pretty special."
Former Falcons running back Warrick Dunn has drawn national acclaim for his charitable work for single mothers, a cause spurred by his losing his mother, a Baton Rouge police officer, in the line of duty. Anderson said he is just as passionate about helping the deaf community.
"I'm not speaking to y'all as a celebrity," Anderson told the group. "I want to be a role model."
On May 1, Anderson testified before a U.S. congressional subcommittee on Capitol Hill for support of legislation to improve technology and technical services for the hearing impaired. He said he plans to start a sports camp in Arkansas or Atlanta for deaf children, maybe as soon as next summer.
Once his playing career is finished, "I want to work at a school for the deaf and get sports programs started."
Anderson said he's committed to the cause and that's why he said he wanted this group of students to understand his message.
"There's always bumps in the road to where you want to get to, and unfortunately they're stuck with one they can't get rid of," Anderson said. "I told them not to let that hinder what they're trying to do. I witnessed that with my father and other deaf Americans. They have no reason not to persevere."
The silence is a way of life. The nerves made for an uneasy moment.
Then one teenager broke the ice. His fingers moved quickly, but all remained quiet. Then an interpreter turned to Falcons defensive end Jamaal Anderson and verbally relayed the query.
"Do you sign?" was the first, and most important, question.
Anderson raised his right hand and motioned back to the student with his fingers to indicate the affirmative – with a catch.
"Not too good right now," Anderson said verbally and, for a few seconds, in sign language. "It's like a foreign language. If you take time off you get rusty. I have to get back at it. I guess I need to come back here more often."
Anderson addressed 28 senior high school students at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf in Clarkston on Wednesday for the first, but not the last, time, he said. He needed an interpreter to convey most of his message but said he hopes to go solo when he comes back.
Anderson grew up in Arkansas using sign language to communicate with his father, Glenn, who has been deaf since childhood. He told the students how his father never used his impairment as an excuse, but instead used it as a strength to become a scholar and teacher.
Anderson combined his father's story with his personal trials of having to walk on to the University of Arkansas football team. He became good enough to be selected eighth overall in the 2007 NFL draft by the Falcons. The story brought the students to the edge of their seats. They couldn't stop asking questions about how he made it and if they actually stood a chance.
Lavan Hood, 17, plays on the football team at Tri-Cities High, and he's a defensive end like Anderson. His hopes of playing pro football were raised after spending just more than a half-hour with the 6-foot-6, 278-pound Anderson
"I've never seen it before, a famous person; it was very fascinating because my goal is to be in the NFL," Hood said through interpreter Lorraine Walker, a teacher and basketball coach at the school. "It's cool to have somebody who can relate to us come here for the first time. That means a lot."
That Anderson is a Falcons football player was one thing. That he understands their plight increased admiration.
"Him being able to sign to them a little bit, you could see their eyes light up and them kind of take a posture like 'OK, he can sign. This is for real,'?" school director Cynthia Ashby said. "Our school gets overlooked a little bit, and to have an athlete of his level give us this type of attention was pretty special."
Former Falcons running back Warrick Dunn has drawn national acclaim for his charitable work for single mothers, a cause spurred by his losing his mother, a Baton Rouge police officer, in the line of duty. Anderson said he is just as passionate about helping the deaf community.
"I'm not speaking to y'all as a celebrity," Anderson told the group. "I want to be a role model."
On May 1, Anderson testified before a U.S. congressional subcommittee on Capitol Hill for support of legislation to improve technology and technical services for the hearing impaired. He said he plans to start a sports camp in Arkansas or Atlanta for deaf children, maybe as soon as next summer.
Once his playing career is finished, "I want to work at a school for the deaf and get sports programs started."
Anderson said he's committed to the cause and that's why he said he wanted this group of students to understand his message.
"There's always bumps in the road to where you want to get to, and unfortunately they're stuck with one they can't get rid of," Anderson said. "I told them not to let that hinder what they're trying to do. I witnessed that with my father and other deaf Americans. They have no reason not to persevere."