Calling NFL player and Super Bowl winner Derrick Coleman ‘successful’ would be putting it mildly. Internationally recognized and admired, his brilliance as a player is undoubted. However, achieving his dream has taken a level of perseverance and bravery that many others would, perhaps, simply be incapable of.
At the age of 3, Derrick lost his hearing due to genetic reasons. This was not expected as both of his parents had normal hearing, however, it was found that they were each missing a hearing gene. Dealing with deafness in school was not easy for Derrick. The impairment made him feel different than everyone else and there was definitely a sense of alienation between him and his school peers. Unfortunately, Derrick became the target of relentless bullying due to his bulky hearing aids. Kids would make fun of the way he looked and the way he spoke, sometimes even trying to pull out his aids, even though he was unable to understand what was being said in class without them.
The main factor that determined his outlook on life and prevented him from closing himself off to the world was the way his parents decided to approach the situation. Instead of attempting to shelter him further to protect him, they adopted a different strategy- they treated him the exact same way as his brother and sister. He wasn’t allowed to use his impairment as an excuse to fall behind on his studies or avoid social situations.
Due to this approach, he soon got used to working hard – harder than his peers ever had to – to be able to keep on top of his studies. No longer afraid to ask questions if there was something that he hadn’t understood, Derrick was quickly re-learning to speak up. His confidence was returning, but alongside it, he acquired something else, something important: the solid foundation for the incredible work ethic that would take him to places he could only dream of as a young boy.
It was exactly this work ethic that translated so well to the playing field. Having to put in twice the effort that everyone else did and the success that followed as a result proved that Derrick had managed to turn his disability into an advantage. Despite concerns that the rough hits that playing fullback involved could affect his hearing loss in a negative way and make it worse, Derrick continued playing and by the time he was a freshman in high school, he was on the Varsity team.
He went on to play college football at UCLA, graduating with a degree in political science after four years of studies. Not long after that, he caught the attention of the NFL and in 2013, he became the first deaf player in the history of NFL to play offense. Later on during the year, Derrick received an exciting offer – he was presented with an opportunity to be featured in the new Duracell battery commercial in which he told his story of growing up with hearing impairment. The commercial quickly went viral, inspiring thousands.
Derrick now uses his platform to spread awareness about hearing loss: he runs the No Excuse foundation, the purpose of which is to ‘support, educate and advocate for the hearing-impaired community as they move to integrate into mainstream society.’ In 2018, he took part in an event that took place in the Phoenix Day School for the Deaf in Arizona. He spoke to the students there and answered their questions in hopes of serving as an example of someone who has faced and is still facing the hardships of hearing impairment and has achieved success despite them.
Derrick Coleman is a true inspiration. His story serves as proof that individuals who are hard of hearing can not only live a full and satisfying life despite hearing loss, but can also turn the impairment into an advantage, learning to use it as a motivator to push their boundaries, work hard and achieve their dreams.
