Seattle Seahawks RB Derrick Coleman deserves every decible of 12th Man’s applause
Jan 15, 2014, 3:31 AM | Updated: 3:31 am
Twenty years ago, when he was three years old, Seattle Seahawks running back Derrick Coleman lost his hearing. Twenty weeks ago, he became the first legally deaf offensive player to ever play in the NFL.
A Duracell batteries ad released Friday details Coleman’s journey from his grade school days in Los Angeles, where he was subject to ridicule from classmates, to his football practice experience, where coaches struggled to communicate with him. But he remained resolved, earning a scholarship to UCLA and breaking into the NFL despite going undrafted in 2012. The 23-year-old scored his first career touchdown on Dec. 2, 2013 on Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints.
The narrator of the 60-second ad, which is an installment of a Duracell campaign called ‘Trust Your Power’, Coleman concludes his story by saying, “Now I’m here, with the loudest fans in the NFL cheering me on, and I can hear them all.”
Of the ad, Coleman told SportingNews.com, “I just hope to inspire people, especially children, to trust the power within and achieve their dreams.”
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