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Govs' Gilbreath doesn't let disability slow him down | theleafchronicle.com | The Leaf Chronicle
Most people probably think it would be hard to be a hearing-impaired football player. But it’s never been for Austin Peay's Preston Gilbreath, a 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman defensive end, who was named the 2008 Tennessee Mr. Football Class A Lineman his senior year at Mt. Pleasant High.
Gilbreath is deaf in his left ear, but can hear in his right ear and uses a hearing aid to amplify the sound. He can hear the crowds, band and all the loud sounds at a football game, all very low rumbling noises.
Gilbreath’s not the first hearing impaired athlete at Austin Peay. He joins former Govs basketball Ernest Fields and football player Bonnie Sloan, the first deaf player to ever play in the NFL.
Sloan was drafted in 1973 the 10th round by the then-St. Louis Cardinals, after being named an All-OVC first team defensive tackle in 1971 and 1972. Sloan only played one year in the NFL because of a knee injury and was inducted into the APSU Hall of Fame in 1981.
Gilbreath just wants everyone, and especially young athletes, to know that being hearing impaired shouldn’t stop them from chasing their dream.
“I really have a heart for that,” he said. “I have some friends who were deaf and played sports that would always get down and think they wouldn’t make it. But I’ve told them to just go out and play and be yourself. My mom always told me to be myself and be who I am and that’s all I’ve done. I just worked hard, came to school and got a scholarship. It can happen. I’m just trying show people with disabilities that they can do it. They just have to keep their heads up.”
Most people probably think it would be hard to be a hearing-impaired football player. But it’s never been for Austin Peay's Preston Gilbreath, a 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman defensive end, who was named the 2008 Tennessee Mr. Football Class A Lineman his senior year at Mt. Pleasant High.
Gilbreath is deaf in his left ear, but can hear in his right ear and uses a hearing aid to amplify the sound. He can hear the crowds, band and all the loud sounds at a football game, all very low rumbling noises.
Gilbreath’s not the first hearing impaired athlete at Austin Peay. He joins former Govs basketball Ernest Fields and football player Bonnie Sloan, the first deaf player to ever play in the NFL.
Sloan was drafted in 1973 the 10th round by the then-St. Louis Cardinals, after being named an All-OVC first team defensive tackle in 1971 and 1972. Sloan only played one year in the NFL because of a knee injury and was inducted into the APSU Hall of Fame in 1981.
Gilbreath just wants everyone, and especially young athletes, to know that being hearing impaired shouldn’t stop them from chasing their dream.
“I really have a heart for that,” he said. “I have some friends who were deaf and played sports that would always get down and think they wouldn’t make it. But I’ve told them to just go out and play and be yourself. My mom always told me to be myself and be who I am and that’s all I’ve done. I just worked hard, came to school and got a scholarship. It can happen. I’m just trying show people with disabilities that they can do it. They just have to keep their heads up.”