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

PITTSBURGH — Students at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf put on their flag football T-shirts, limbered up and even did the wave, all to get ready for a special guest and football coach for the day.

Steelers wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. joined the Toyota NFL Flag Clinic and Love Sign, a deaf-led social media organization, to make it happen.

The children split up into groups. Pittman Jr. played catch with the younger ones. With the older students, the drills got a bit tougher.

“We did some flag pulling drills, and I’m not gonna lie, 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. said.

Alexis Kashar is an ASL accessibility leader and partners with Toyota, Love Sign and other groups.

“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 had fun, but also appreciated the significance of the moment.

“I felt like it was a big step forward for the deaf community,” 15-year-old Bella Weber said.

“We learned how to play flag football, and that means we might have a future deaf flag football player because of this.”

Roddy Mihoerck, 12, added, “I think having an NFL player here is a very good idea, especially to support us, and maybe that means one of us will have a future as a flag football player. It could be me.”

Pittman Jr. admitted he wasn’t just the teacher.

“I learned some sign language today. I learned clap, go, flag football, football, good job and love,” Pittman Jr. said while signing what he learned.

Pittman Jr. was also open about his own challenges to show the students how they can become strengths.

“So, I used to stutter and honestly without sports I probably wouldn’t be standing up here,” Pittman Jr. said. “So, just showing them that obviously it’s different but that they can do the same thing and that football is for everybody.”

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