Football clinic with Steelers’ Michael Pittman Jr. makes memories for local deaf students

At the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, students geared up in their flag football T-shirts, warmed up and even performed the wave, all in anticipation of a special guest coach. Steelers wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. joined forces with Toyota NFL Flag Clinic and Love Sign, a deaf-led social media platform, to create this unique experience.

The youngsters were divided into groups, with Pittman Jr. tossing the ball to the younger kids and engaging in more challenging drills with the older students. "I was dominating them, but there was one kid that got me, like he gave me that left right and I just completely missed and he scored. So, I’m gonna be thinking about that one for the next week or so," Pittman Jr. shared.

ASL accessibility leader Alexis Kashar, who partners with Toyota, Love Sign and other organizations, highlighted the importance of the event. "Growing up, we didn’t get to see this. It was very much an experience of segregation where the deaf community had their deaf sports, and the hearing community had their hearing sports, but this is a beautiful overlap of both deaf and hearing communities coming together," Kashar signed.

The students relished the occasion, acknowledging its significance. Fifteen-year-old Bella Weber exclaimed, "I felt like it was a big step forward for the deaf community." "We learned how to play flag football, and that means we might have a future deaf flag football player because of this," added 12-year-old Roddy Mihoerck. Pittman Jr. wasn't just an instructor; he also learned sign language during the clinic.

"I learned some sign language today. I learned clap, go, flag football, football, good job and love," he signed, gesturing to the newfound vocabulary.

Pittman Jr. candidly shared his own struggles to demonstrate that challenges can become strengths. "So, I used to stutter and honestly without sports I probably wouldn’t be standing up here," he said. "So, just showing them that obviously it’s different but that they can do the same thing and that football is for everybody."