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Has any NBA player gone deaf?

Author

Rachel Ellis

Published Jan 13, 2026

Lance Collin Allred (born February 2, 1981) is the first legally deaf player in NBA history. He is also an inspirational speaker, author, and TEDx star of "What is Your Polygamy?" He has a Mexican American decent. Allred is legally deaf, with 75%–80% hearing loss due to Rh complications at birth.

Are there any professional deaf or hard of hearing athletes?

Heidi Zimmer is an accomplished athlete in several fields. She competed in the women's high jump at the Deaf Olympics in 1969 and 1973, and won the bronze medal in high jump at the Yugoslavia Olympics of 1969. Zimmer is DeafBlind.

Do deaf people play basketball?

The game played by deaf people is organized with national and international associations including Deaf Basketball Australia, Deaf Basketball UK and United States of America Deaf Basketball.

Are there any blind basketball players?

But in his 40 years in the profession, Trawnik has never treated someone like Isaiah Austin, 20, who started suffering blindness after injuring his right eye in a baseball accident six years ago. Now, fully blind in that eye, Austin could be one of the 60 players selected in the upcoming NBA draft.

Who is the most famous deaf person?

Helen Keller was a remarkable American educator, disability activist and author. She is the most famous DeafBlind person in history. In 1882, Keller was 18 months old and fell ill with an acute illness which caused her to become deaf, blind and mute.

29 related questions found

Who was the first deaf athlete?

A number of deaf people have competed in the modern Olympic Games, with the earliest known being Carlo Orlandi, an Italian boxer who competed in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. In some cases, adaptations have been made to accommodate deaf athletes.

What disease does Isaiah Austin have?

Marfan syndrome stopped Isaiah Austin from an NBA playing career, but he's still living out his dream with the league. Isaiah Austin was ceremonially drafted to the NBA in 2014. Standing 7-foot-1 with a skillset that resembled Kevin Durant, Isaiah Austin had dreams of being in the NBA.

Do NBA players have Marfan?

Certain athletes, including basketball and volleyball players, may be suspected based on their tall stature. The vast majority of tall athletes do not have Marfan syndrome. However, most people with Marfan syndrome are tall for their respective families.

What happened to Isaiah Austin eye?

Austin first sustained eye damage when a baseball hit him when he was a sixth grader living in California. The hit loosened the retina, but it didn't detach until two years later after his family had moved to Texas and he went up for a dunk before a middle school basketball game.

Does Lance Allred use ASL?

No sign language. No cochlear implants. No road to follow. Allred used lip-reading, toneless speech, and writing as his means of communication in a world where they meant very little.

How do deaf athletes communicate?

Visual aids such as score boards, white boards, or signs can be used to communicate. Interpreters are also widely used in sports as well. Coaches and teammates can learn some signs to help bridge the communication gap. As well as face to face communication and signals that the message is understood.

What celebrity is deaf?

Stars with Hearing Loss: 10 Celebrities Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

  • 1 – Bill Clinton. ...
  • 2 – Derrick Coleman. ...
  • 3 – Grimes. ...
  • 4 – Halle Berry. ...
  • 5 – Jane Lynch. ...
  • 6 – Marlee Matlin. ...
  • 7 – Nyle DiMarco. ...
  • 8 – Pete Townshend.

How did Tamika become deaf?

Unfortunately, the family moved around a lot. Because of this and other differences – of which hearing loss was just one – Catchings was bullied in school. One day in third grade, out of frustration, she threw her hearing aids into a tall field of grass.

Has there ever been a deaf baseball player?

Curtis John Pride (born December 17, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who is deaf. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. In 2015, Pride was named MLB's Ambassador For Inclusion.

Does Boban Marjanovic have a disease?

Early life. Marjanović was born and raised in Boljevac in eastern Serbia. Although he was tall from a young age, his family members are all of average height: his father stands only 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) tall. A pituitary gland condition is thought to have contributed to his gigantism.

Why can't you play in the NBA with Marfan syndrome?

She was afraid of what he might do if he were alone. The advice given by the team of NBA physicians and by the Marfan Foundation guidelines was that Austin should never play basketball again. The NBA ruled him ineligible. The risk was too great; his aorta could rupture with the strain of competitive play.

Why is Isaiah Austin banned from the NBA?

The condition enlarges the aorta, the artery that carries blood from the heart. The more an aorta expands, the more likely it is to fatally tear. Especially considering that blood pressure increases with physical activity, NBA doctors declared Austin ineligible to play.

What is the life expectancy of someone with Marfan syndrome?

The prevalence of the syndrome is 7-17/100,000. The mean life expectancy for untreated patients with Marfan syndrome is 32 years with aortic dissection, aortic rupture or cardiac failure due to mitral and aortic valve regurgitation as the predominant cause of death in > 90% of the cases.

Can deaf people enter the Olympics?

People with a hearing loss are free to compete at the Olympic Games. In the London 2012 Olympics for example, the US team alone had three deaf people: A new Olympic champion in basketball Tamika Catchings, volleyball player David Smith and diver Chris Colwill.

Are there deaf dancers?

Often a deaf dancer will use his or her eyes to watch and follow the movement of a fellow dancer who may be able to hear and follow the music. It is important to note that the Gallaudet Dance Company remains "in time" with or without music.

Was Beethoven deaf at birth?

Beethoven was not born deaf, but he gradually became deaf. Although his deafness did not become total until 1819, the first symptoms of the impairment manifested before 1800. Early on, Beethoven reported hearing buzzing and ringing in his ears.

What singer is deaf?

Dame Evelynn Glennie

She has had a long and successful career as a musician and has collaborated with artists including Björk, Bobby McFerrin and Mark Knopfler. Glennie has been outspoken about how misunderstood deafness is, explaining that she taught herself to hear with other parts of her body.

Is Millie Bobby Brown half deaf?

Millie Bobby Brown

Born with partial hearing loss, which then turned into full deafness following years of tubes, she doesn't always hear the director's "action" cue when shooting a scene unless it's loud.

How did Beethoven go deaf?

Why did Beethoven go deaf? The exact cause of his hearing loss is unknown. Theories range from syphilis to lead poisoning, typhus, or possibly even his habit of plunging his head into cold water to keep himself awake. At one point he claimed he had suffered a fit of rage in 1798 when someone interrupted him at work.