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Bradley Christian is the heart of the Binghamton Bulldogs, but one thing you might not see when you look at the 6’7” forward are the struggles he dealt with growing up.
“Started losing my hearing around 11-12 years old. I lost everything in my left ear overnight. Woke up the next morning, and it was gone,” said Christian, who plays small forward for the Binghamton Bulldogs.
Christian remains completely deaf in his left ear and over time, he lost most of his hearing in his right ear as well.
What You Need To Know
- Bradley Christian is completely deaf in his left ear and lost most of his hearing in his right ear
- The 6’7″ small forward uses hand signals and sign language to communicate with teammates
- Christian and the Binghamton Bulldogs also work with youth leagues
But those challenges never got in the way of him living out his dream. In fact, Christian was just selected to represent Team USA in the international deaf basketball tournament.
“It’s a blessing because not too many people get recognized to do it,” said Christian. “It was a blessing. I’m still at a loss for words. I can’t put words together to this day.”
Bulldogs’ head coach Dan Rathmell said Christian is a huge asset to the team, both on and off the court.
“He’s a great player, but he’s also a great personality. He’s a lot of fun to have around, not just in our team, but in kid’s leagues, working at the complex,” said Rathmell. “He’s just a very contagious personality. He’s a lot of fun.”
A contagious personality that continues to breathe life into the team. And despite the challenges of being deaf, he’s been able to find success thanks to the help of his teammates.
“We use a lot of hand signals for me for the games if the game is really loud and obnoxious, so I lead signals,” said Christian. “I give my coaches and teammates sign language just so they can know which signal to use for me in the game.”
Over the course of the season, Christian has become an inspiration, not just to his teammates, but to the entire community.
“Don’t let anybody say that you can’t do anything, that you won’t be this way or that way because of what you have,” said Christian. “Forget what they say. If you love doing what you love to do, push yourself and have other support systems that want to see you win, not to see you lose.”
He has since mastered sign language and says he’s become a skilled lip reader over the years.
The 76th annual men’s deaf basketball tournament kicks off on May 2.
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