With each passing year, the NFL has made great efforts to connect nighttime entertainment with the deaf community. Alongside the high-profile names booked to sing the national anthem and take center stage during the halftime show are deaf actors, singers and entertainers who will perform the numbers in American Sign Language. And for Super Bowl LVII in 2023, the organization booked one of the better-known — but still criminally under-the-radar — deaf actors working today: Troy Kotsur.
After working mostly in theater for decades and dabbling in film for the past 20 years, Kotsur broke into the mainstream in film in 2021 KODA, which garnered him a handful of awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The Apple release, about a young woman struggling to balance life as a “child of deaf adults” with her desire to pursue a career in music, also won Best Picture at the 2022 Academy Awards. (But it’s kind of grossly underrated by people who think it’s too small to win such a prestigious award – fuck you haters!) Kotsur was also instrumental in the development of the Tusken Raider sign language, the can be seen in The Mandalorian, in which he also appeared. On Sunday, Kotsur joins country star Chris Stapleton on the field to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Kotsur isn’t the only deaf to watch out for at Super Bowl LVII. During the pre-game entertainment, Colin Denny, who hails from the Navajo Nation of Arizona, will perform “America the Beautiful” with R&B singer Babyface. According to a press release from the National Association of the Deaf, its rendering will include both ASL and North American Indian Sign Language.
New to the game this year is a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” sung by Sheryl Lee Ralph Abbott Elementary School Fame. Justina Miles, a Philadelphia-born performer, will join Ralph to accompany her in ASL. Miles will also perform in ASL during Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show.
The NFL’s work with the deaf community has encountered some controversy; It’s one thing to hire artists for ASL performances and another to give them a visible platform for the world to see. as many have emphasized in recent years. But with the rising prominence of deaf artists in film, television and music, there’s reason to believe the spotlight is big enough for all involved. And seriously, watch KODA.
