Deaf Anthology #389: "Limelight"

This is the worst exploitation of a deaf child I ever seen in my life, all behind the scene what you haven't seen on the CBS coverage of the Super Bowl. It all started with a father who would do anything to get a free Super Bowl ticket by complaining to the NFL that they should let her 12 years old oral deaf daughter sing the national anthem threatening them with a lawsuit if they went ahead with letting the Florida School for the Deaf sign the lyrics, stating that they are reinforcing the myths the deaf only signs, not speak and wanted equal treatment. NFL fearing liquidations, agreed to let her sing during rehearsal while the stadium are filling up and the players are practicing on the field. The oral deaf child begin to sing then choked after a few mispronounced words, despite cues from her on stage speech therapist, and to make matters worst she burst into tears after hearing thousands in the stands laughing at her. Even though she can't understands words with her cochlear-implants, he could hear the laughter loud and clear to her dismay. She cried out to her father indicating that she wants to go home, but her father, being insensitive, laughing and remarked "even a caveman can sing better than her." The mother could have taken her home but the father, being selfish, preferred to enjoy the game with his pub drinking buddy at the expense of his daughter. There were roaring applause from the crowds after the Deaf children, in the limelights, sign the national anthem without flaws, while that deaf oral girl sat there in tears without anyone to comfort her.

This is Smokey, stay tuned for the next episode of Deaf Anthology. Good night, Deaf America!