[MUSIC] Hello, we've been talking a lot about the law and how it relates to deaf individuals this week. So for my story, I want to tell you about an experience I had that related to the ADA. Growing up, I played a whole lot of baseball, and I was in the league. And when I was 12 years old, It was time to try out again. But I had to try out in a new league because I was 12 already. And in my years of playing baseball, I became familiar with a bunch of coaches, and they'd all went their own way, they didn't transfer to the new league, except for one coach. And I was so excited I love baseball, I was ready for these tryouts. I wanted to be a professional baseball player. I wanted to join the major leagues. So we went to the trial me and my mother, and they told me no, you can't try out, you're deaf. And so my mother she was not going to take that line down, she was thinking what we could we do and she decided to go ahead and call the news. So they came out to the field where me and my brother were playing catch. Our mother was standing there talking with the reporters and these new coaches they were seeing that's happen. And they didn't want to be embarrassed, they didn't want this to become a state or even national story. So they went ahead and called me over to try out. And after the try outs the coach that had known me for a few years, he picked me, and over the objections of the other coaches. And I was so thankful for that coach. He had faith in me. He knew that I was just like any other player. And I'd like to think that the example he set of being open minded made an impact on the other coaches. So I continued to play baseball through high school and I went to a community college for tryouts. My mother and my best friend were in the stands watching. And going through the drills it was obvious that I was destroying the competition. There was no doubt that I made the team or I should have made the team. Even my mother and my friend were telling me you got it, you were a superstar out there. So as the coaches decided who was going to make the team and make the list, they posted the list out there. And I went to see and my name was not on the list. And I was furious this is impossible. So me and my mother approached the coaches and they said yes, you're a great player but now, how can we communicate with you, you're deaf. And at that time, the idea would have already been passed, but just a few years prior so just after 1990, and the idea it was passed. So I don't think they knew about the law. But that barrier, that discrimination I didn't let it defeat me, I didn't sit on my lowers. So I went on and became a professor here at the university of Houston. And, I see this same example throughout my life, where deaf individuals are, Given barriers. And we find another way. And still to this day There's still discrimination and hypocrisy. And hopefully in the future, we can cut that down. From my personal example, I'm here doing a MOOC. And this is a historical event. I'm doing a MOOC in complete American sign language. Typically, they're in spoken words, so it's a big change. So I do see the progress, and it's inspiring. And so we're looking forward to what the future holds.
