THE STUTTERING FOUDATION CELEBRITY CORNER ADRIAN PETERSON AN NFL SUPERSTAR AND STUTTERING SUPERHERO
Adrian Nicholas Peterson is known as a former running back for the Chicago Bears in the NFL, but he is more than just an athlete; he is also an inspiration to people who struggle with stuttering.
Peterson was born on July 1, 1979, in Gainesville, Florida. His athletic ability was apparent from the start; he was a two-time all- state, all-area selection and team MVP at Santa Fe High School in Alachua, Florida. His ability to speak publicly, however, did not come so naturally– he struggled with stuttering growing up. He excelled on the field but was afraid to speak up in the classroom.
In a 2013 interview with First Coast News, Peterson talked about what it was like growing up with a stutter: "Growing up it was rough starting out. Every kid wants to be normal. My mom and dad noticed I had a speech impediment at the age of four. When a lot of the other kids were doing a lot of talking, I shied away from it. We had to read aloud in class, and I struggled. The whole day it seemed like none of my words would come out."
Peterson said he would be teased about his stuttering. "You hear in the background the snickering and laughing and giggling," he said. "But from that point I understood, 'Adrian you stutter. Let’s accept it and move forward.'"
In a 2005 interview with The Chicago Tribune, Peterson recalled the encouragement of his father. "My dad, Porter, would always tell me that it could've been worse,” he said. “I could've not been able to talk at all. If so, then I probably would've had to take a different route and might never have played in the NFL.”
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Peterson didn't let other students’ teasing stop him, and it paid off. "I didn't change," Peterson told First Coast News. "I didn't change who I was. I was still active with my sports. And in school if I had to do a presentation, it may take me five minutes, 10 minutes or even 30 minutes. But I got up there, stood strong and did it."
Peterson went on to play football at Georgia Southern University, where dominated he from 1998-2001. He finished his college career with 6,559 rushing yards, a Division I football record. He was among the top three vote- getters for the Walter Payton Award in all four of his college football seasons, and he was inducted into the Georgia Southern hall of fame in 2012. He made it to the NFL and played professionally from 2002-2010 for the Chicago Bears.
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