{"id":13897,"date":"2025-07-28T19:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T19:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3playmedia.com\/?page_id=13897"},"modified":"2025-07-28T19:42:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T19:42:59","slug":"professional-sports-asl-interpreting-with-brice-christianson","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.3playmedia.com\/alliedpodcast\/professional-sports-asl-interpreting-with-brice-christianson\/","title":{"rendered":"Professional Sports ASL Interpreting with Brice Christianson"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70);\" class=\"has-text-align-center is-style-page is-style-page--1 wp-block-post-title\">Professional Sports ASL Interpreting with Brice Christianson<\/h1>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity aligngrid\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center is-style-large is-style-large--2\"><strong><a href=\"#transcript\">Transcript<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: -75px;\">\n\n<script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/embed\/medias\/nlg4l9ywz1.jsonp\" async><\/script><script src=\"https:\/\/fast.wistia.com\/assets\/external\/E-v1.js\" async><\/script>\n<div class=\"wistia_embed wistia_async_nlg4l9ywz1 seo=false\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 218px; position: relative;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Welcome to 3Play Media\u2019s Allied Podcast, a show on all things accessibility. This month\u2019s episode features Brice Christianson of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.playbyplayinterpreting.com\/\">Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting<\/a>&nbsp;and is about ASL interpretation for professional sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brice Christianson is a professional sports sign language interpreter and founder of Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting. Brice was born to two Deaf parents and grew up surrounded by Deaf culture. Growing up, Brice attended sporting events with his father and interpreted for him so he could have access to the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Twenty-five years later, Brice proposed to the Milwaukee Bucks to become the first professional sports team to provide ASL interpretation. Inspired by interpreting for his father and the successful launch with the Bucks, Brice launched Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting to usher in a new era of accessible and inclusive experiences for Deaf and hard-of-hearing sports fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/brice-christianson-6991a29a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Connect with Brice on LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out this episode on any of these platforms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/professional-sports-interpreting-with-brice\/id1563996926?i=1000545278958\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple Podcasts<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/2TgfuXd9rv1AHsKFCSaCED?si=21f931fce73a4ba9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9mYXN0Lndpc3RpYS5jb20vY2hhbm5lbHMvNWFvN2gyajF1dS9yc3M\/episode\/MjUxMWU4YzItZjE3ZC00NDI0LWFkMjctYTZjODdkMWY4ZWM4?sa=X&amp;ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwj4ybj6u_r0AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQQg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Podcasts<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Want to get in touch? Email us at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:Allied@3playmedia.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Allied@3playmedia.com<\/a>. We\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-group wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio alignfull is-style-default has-global-padding is-content-justification-center is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center aligngrid has-half-mobile-gap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-d5ae394d wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center tribe-has-stacking-order is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"padding-top:0px;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0;flex-basis:50%;--tribe-stacking-order:0\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-balanced-text is-style-large is-style-large--3\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">Watch the episode in ASL:<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center tribe-has-stacking-order is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%;--tribe-stacking-order:0\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image tribe-embed is--youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"\n\tdata-id=\"U0UC1k44Ljo\">\n\t<div class=\"tribe-embed__inner\">\n\t\t\t<button class=\"play-button\" aria-label=\"Play Video\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=1280 height=720\t\tclass=\"tribe-embed__thumbnail\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/U0UC1k44Ljo\/maxresdefault.jpg\"\n\t\tsrcset=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/U0UC1k44Ljo\/mqdefault.jpg 320w,https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/U0UC1k44Ljo\/hqdefault.jpg 480w,https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/U0UC1k44Ljo\/sddefault.jpg 640w,https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/U0UC1k44Ljo\/maxresdefault.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw,1280px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\t\t<template id=tribe-embed-embed-html-U0UC1k44Ljo\">\n\t\t\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U0UC1k44Ljo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/template>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\">Episode transcript<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;Welcome back to Allied, the podcast for everything you need to know about web and video accessibility. I\u2019m your host, Elisa Lewis. And today we\u2019re joined by professional sports sign language interpreter and founder of Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting, Brice Christianson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brice was born to two deaf parents and grew up surrounded by deaf culture. Growing up, Brice attended sporting events with his father and interpreted for him so he could have access to the game. 25 years later, Brice proposed the Milwaukee Bucks to become the first professional sports team to provide ASL interpretation. Inspired by interpreting for his father and the successful launch with the Bucks, Brice launched Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting to usher in a new era of accessible and inclusive experiences for deaf and hard of hearing sports fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you so much, Brice, for joining us today. We\u2019re super excited to have you here to talk about professional sports language interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;It\u2019s an honor to be here, and I\u2019m humbled for the opportunity. Thank you so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;So, to start off, we\u2019d love to know more about your background. I know that you were born to two deaf parents and you grew up with American Sign Language or ASL as your first language. But I\u2019d love to know what role sports played throughout your childhood and how you found yourself pursuing a career in sports interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;Honestly, it\u2019s\u2013 I use the word humbled a lot, but I truly am humbled for this opportunity to have this conversation. If you were to ask me a few years ago that I\u2019d be on a podcast, let alone having a professional sports interpreting business, I don\u2019t think I would have believed you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I\u2019m a firm believer in these sort of moments are precious, and I\u2019m really thrilled to talk a little bit more about this background. And I feel like a lot of people don\u2019t know who I am, and they see my work with the Bucks. And I think it\u2019s human nature to start making assumptions of who this person is and what are their intentions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I always used to be very concerned about that, what other people thought. But I started really tapping into where I came from. And, like you said, both of my parents are deaf. I was born in 1983, so in the \u201980s, sign language interpreting wasn\u2019t a profession. Family members were interpreters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They didn\u2019t even call them interpreters. They just assisted with communication. And it wasn\u2019t until \u201992, \u201993, where the Americans with Disabilities Act came into play where accommodations were then provided for deaf and hard of hearing individuals like my parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So when I grew up in the \u201980s, when I was born, my pediatrician was concerned that a hearing child was born to two deaf parents. Was he going to acquire language? How is he going to function as a normal person? I\u2019m using quotations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that was the mindset in the \u201980s. And so, luckily, I had a retired teacher for the deaf who was hearing, who her husband had just passed away. And she was looking for some volunteer opportunities. Again, like I said, in the \u201980s, there were no background checks. It was like, hey, here\u2019s this number. Here\u2019s this address. Go meet these two deaf people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And my dad, when\u2013 I call her Grandma Jones, as she\u2019s affectionately known as. But her name was Elizabeth Jones. And she was pretty persistent on wanting to be involved in my life. My father was apprehensive and like, who is this hearing person wanting to be in our life. We\u2019re fine. We\u2019re going to take care of this child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, luckily, she convinced my parents to just be there for a support system to connect English and American Sign Language, connect me to the hearing world as well. And that was sort of\u2013 I don\u2019t know where I\u2019d be without that sort of experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are so many things that\u2013 the building blocks, the language acquisition period in that time frame was so critical. And you see a lot of infants and toddlers and the bilingualism approach and where they\u2019re sponges, and they absorb all this language. I truly don\u2019t know where I\u2019d be\u2013 I don\u2019t even know if I\u2019d be having this conversation if it wasn\u2019t for Elizabeth Jones, who I call as Grandma Jones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that\u2019s where it all sort of started. And my dad being deaf, his connection to the hearing world was sports. It\u2019s visual. My dad was an amazing athlete. He went to the Wisconsin School for the Deaf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was recruited by colleges. But then, when they found out he was deaf, they passed on bringing him on to the team. So, again, there\u2019s this form of discrimination and oppression that I\u2019ve witnessed. And my dad sort of carried that, that he felt slighted. He had a chip on his shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rather than use it as an opportunity to do good, he sort of dwelled on it, became very angry. And I know this probably wasn\u2019t what we were expecting. But I grew up in a very chaotic, very violent, very traumatic upbringing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My dad, like I said, was a very angry individual because he was deaf. And I\u2019m not saying this to pity him. I\u2019m saying this to raise awareness on how communication access is so important, and why we need to look at the human, rather than what they have and what they don\u2019t have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it ties into sports because I never could understand my father. Even though ASL was my first language, I never felt connected to him. My dad always looked at me as you can hear. You can be perfect. And when I failed, my dad would beat me. There was a lot of psychological abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so I was always trying to figure out what my dad wanted. And, clearly, my acquisition of American Sign Language wasn\u2019t proficient growing up. So, obviously, there are a lot of misconceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was sports that really allowed me to sort of have an out-of-body experience. And also, it allowed me to connect with my father for someone who I couldn\u2019t understand. And so sports, I know a lot of people sort of scoff at it like, oh, it\u2019s just sports. It\u2019s people playing with a baseball, basketball, or football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But sports has a powerful ripple effect that affects all aspects of society. And it had a profound impact on me. It allowed me to connect with my father in ways that I don\u2019t think I could have. And it was from there where I started interpreting with my father at sporting events. And growing up and attending games at Lambeau Field or Bradley Center for the Milwaukee Bucks\u2013 now it\u2019s Fiserv Forum, County Stadium\u2013 which is now American Family Field for the Brewers\u2013 I didn\u2019t know any better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For one, it was probably fear. I didn\u2019t want to upset my father. So I just interpreted for my father. And I use quotations, again. It was more of, like, a brokering of language. I heard, and then I tried to convey it to the best of my ability. I didn\u2019t have the proficiency in English that I do now. I didn\u2019t have the interpreting background that I did now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, from there, sports gave me an opportunity to look beyond my chaotic and traumatic upbringing. It allowed me to sort of seek for sort of a sanctuary, a solace. And I feel like my dad had that same experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;Yeah. Thank you for sharing all of that. I think you touched on so many different things I could ask you about. I really love the story about Grandma Jones. And I think one of the things you mentioned there is so interesting and something that I\u2019ve come across frequently in my work in accessibility and working closely with the deaf and hard of hearing community is this kind of divide around the hearing world and the deaf world. So it definitely is interesting to hear your experience kind of with both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I do want to follow up on your career, but I\u2019m also curious. You mentioned growing up in the \u201980s that a lot of the sort of language and tools, if you will, that exist now weren\u2019t really there, or certainly weren\u2019t formalized. I\u2019m curious if you could talk about what the experience was like sort of being the interpreter\u2013 and, again, using that term a little bit loosely\u2013 but being the interpreter for your parents growing up while you were a kid yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;I mean, it\u2019s shaped me who I am now. It definitely had a profound impact later in life, and we can touch on a little bit later, but my focus on mental health and taking care of oneself. It was because I really didn\u2019t have an identity as a kid. And I can say that looking back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the moment, I didn\u2019t know. I just was like\u2013 any time my dad was angry, it was like, oh, it\u2019s my fault. I need to fix it. And whenever we went to events, whether it was Thanksgiving, Christmas, parent-teacher conferences where I would interpret, all those sorts of things\u2013 again, that lack of awareness, the education, it just wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I think for me it was just this is all I knew. And my father had a key to the hearing world. And I don\u2019t think he would look at it that way. I think it was just like, he\u2019s my son. I brought him into this world, and now he\u2019s going to allow me to connect to this hearing world that\u2019s excluded me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My mom never really\u2013 my mom was there, but kind of wasn\u2019t there. She was a loving person. But, again, my father being a very violent and turbulent individual, we were always walking on eggshells, that sort of thing. One, it was probably survival, like, I better interpret for my father. Two, it was also\u2013 maybe now looking back, I didn\u2019t want my parents to feel excluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so when we went to family gatherings, it was just automatic that I would interpret for my parents. That obviously had a profound impact on my mental health as I grew up, and I always felt like I was in between both worlds. I wasn\u2019t necessarily\u2013 I could hear, but I wasn\u2019t necessarily hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I knew sign language and I was part of deaf culture, but I wasn\u2019t deaf. And so that\u2019s that odd existence of being a CODA, a child of deaf adults. And now you\u2019re seeing this movie come out, CODA, which is shining a spotlight on CODAs. That movie\u2013 I mean, there were so many moments where I was like, wow, that was my childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And just because I had this doesn\u2019t mean that every CODA had this and every CODA had a very violent father. I just did. But growing up in the \u201980s, that was just what it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I think the concerning thing is history sort of repeats itself where you have all these laws, you have more education, you have more awareness, but you do see people cut corners. And that\u2019s kind of what led me into professional sports. I hope I answered that question a little bit more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;Yeah, absolutely. So getting back to your career a little bit, I know that your career began with the Milwaukee Bucks, who actually made history in becoming the first professional sports team to provide ASL interpretation. How did your relationship with the Bucks begin? And how did you sort of convince them to value ASL interpretation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;We talked about this a little bit in our pre-recording. I\u2019ve always wanted to work in sports. And, like I said, growing up it was an out-of-body experience. I thought athletes were gods, like, Greek gods that were on Earth and that could do no wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And some of my cherished memories growing up are watching games. And, I mean, I could laundry list of all these different games and athletes. But I\u2019ve always wanted to work in sports. And initially, it was like, oh, I want to be a sports journalist or I want to be an ESPN broadcaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And life has a funny way of working out the way it does. And so I never got into an official major with sports, but I created a podcast on my infatuation and love for the Green Bay Packers. And I did that, one, because it was a hobby, but two, it also\u2013 I wanted to connect with sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it was there that I realized how inaccessible sports was. I have\u2013 some of my closest friends are deaf. And they would say, hey, I\u2019ve heard through the grapevine that you have this Packers podcast. Would you ever want to do this in American Sign Language? And my upbringing, you would think that would be automatic, where I\u2019d be like oh, yeah, totally. Why didn\u2019t I think of that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I didn\u2019t. And, again, I think that\u2019s part of the nature of individuals, is that we\u2019d like to point the finger and say, oh, how dare you not provide accommodations or accessibility? We\u2019re all unique human individuals, and we live complicated lives. And sometimes we just don\u2019t think about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it was there that I started providing podcasts in interpretive form. And it was there where I realized how inaccessible sports was. And so that\u2019s where the idea of marrying my two passions, professional sports and American Sign Language interpreting, came to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around that time, I was also a certified sign language interpreter. And I had just graduated from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, their interpreter training program. So I had that background. I wanted to get formal training. And even though my first language is American Sign Language, I wanted to understand the ethics and the professional side, the business side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I also wanted to hone in and become a little bit more skilled at American Sign Language interpreting. So I was sort of going back and forth. I was interpreting in the community. And then, at home, I was recording these podcasts and then interpreting them into ASL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I put that in the back of my head. And I won the contract at Fiserv Forum in\u2013 I want to say 2017. So they had just opened up their doors, and they were looking for sign language interpreting services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it was through my work within the community pro bono\u2013 I worked with a lot of different music halls and venues and helped them implement sign language interpreting accommodations and requests. I did that all pro bono. And looking back, I probably could have been a little bit more diligent on invoicing and all that stuff. But I was just getting my foot in the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was there that allowed me to connect with the Milwaukee Bucks in Fiserv Forum. They\u2019ve connected to all these different venues and said, who do you use for a sign language interpreter? And they mentioned me. And so that was that foot in the door. And I won the contract with Fiserv Forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And from there, I would interpret concerts. I would also bring in some of the best music interpreters for concerts that I couldn\u2019t interpret. And we just had conversations. And so over a year and a half, we\u2019d meet on a monthly basis and see how we could enhance accessibility and the viewing experience for deaf and hard of hearing music fans. And that\u2019s where I sort of shot my shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was at a lunch with Kieran Nulty, who was the Vice President of Arena Experience for the Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum. And right at the end of our meeting, I just mentioned, hey, there\u2019s something that I\u2019ve been thinking about. Would the Milwaukee Bucks be interested in becoming the first professional sports team to have a sign language interpreter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I just expected that he\u2019d say no, just because I had sort of floated that idea around the Brewers in the past, the Packers in the past, and I never heard anything. And I just thought, oh, this is never going to happen. And, believe it or not, I\u2019ll still never forget the look on his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could see this sort of glimmer in his eyes, and this excitement. And I felt like we were on to something. And within the next, I would say three to four days, he had run it up to President Peter Feigin. He\u2019d gotten the communications team on board, the social media team on board. And we were doing test runs before the 2019-2020 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then we kicked off the home opener October 26, 2019\u2013 I still remember the date\u2013 as the first team to provide a sign language interpreter for their post-game press conferences. So that is how I sort of convinced them. But really, it was networking. It was all these relationships that I had cultivated in the past that had built trust within the community that kind of gave me a leg up with the Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then it was constant communication and developing a relationship with them where I could feel comfortable proposing this idea. And we\u2019ve been doing it now for two years, three seasons. And I feel like every single game, every single opportunity, it just strengthens our bond on we\u2019re doing the right thing. And it\u2019s also for the right reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;Thank you for sharing that. I know you mentioned you could have been a little more diligent with invoices and everything, but it sounds like it led you to where you are now and all worked out for the best. So that\u2019s great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was smiling when you mentioned interpreting concerts I remember the first time that I saw an ASL interpreter at a concert online, I should say. But just the passion and the expression, it\u2019s really amazing. Matt Maxey and Amber Galloway Gallego are two that I\u2019ve come across, and just really amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would love to know\u2013 you mentioned that you realized sports really are inaccessible, and this kind of encouraged you to create an environment where they\u2019re more accessible. And I\u2019m curious if you could explain and share some examples of what you mean by that and how, in a live game or online virtually, professional sports can be more accessible, whether that\u2019s the game itself, emergency preparedness, PSAs, all kinds of things. But I\u2019d love to have you share some examples in your experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;To be frank, I think this is a perfect example of how inaccessible our world can be. I\u2019m talking about the deaf community. I\u2019m talking about American Sign Language. And, unfortunately, podcasts are inaccessible, often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can provide transcripts. But, again, it\u2019s in their second language predominantly. And this isn\u2019t to criticize the podcast or anything like that. But it is also to raise awareness on how privileged we are as individuals who can hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s the thing that I\u2013 it\u2019s sort of embedded in me. Every time I listen to music or a podcast or I walk around, the privilege is right in my face of I can hear. I don\u2019t have to worry about communication access. I don\u2019t have to worry about if there\u2019s a sign language interpreter here, are they going to voice the same things that I\u2019m signing? Is their tone going to reflect my tone? All these sorts of nuances that I think that we take for granted on a regular basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We talk about all these sort of forms of oppression and microaggressions and all that. I think communication access is one that we don\u2019t think about. And I think that\u2019s the beautiful thing, for lack of a better term, with professional sports interpreting and what I\u2019m doing and what we created with the Milwaukee Bucks, is that it shines a spotlight on how inaccessible society is and how inaccessible sports is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you go to a game, it\u2019s riddled with inaccessibility. From the minute you walk into the arena, you have to trust that you know where the seat is. If you go to guest services, if it\u2019s your first time at Fiserv Forum or any other sports arena, you have to also wonder\u2013 and I\u2019m speaking on behalf of a deaf individual. But you have to wonder what\u2019s their view of this deaf person. Are they going to be cordial? Are they going to be OK? Or are they going to freak out and say this person isn\u2019t using the same language as I am?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And deaf people can pick up on that. And so it\u2019s this constant re-education that I see with my parents and with my deaf colleagues and my deaf friends. And that\u2019s something that I want to make it easier for. I want to use my privilege in ways to break down these barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I never thought we\u2019d be doing this in professional sports. Now that we\u2019re doing it, there\u2019s just so many examples that I can see of how inaccessible things are. For example, when you look at closed captions in arenas, where are deaf individuals, where are hard of hearing individuals placed? Where are they seated? Can they easily view the captions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of times, closed captions that are placed in these arenas, stadiums, parks, and et cetera. It\u2019s so that they don\u2019t get sued. And that\u2019s where I\u2013 I want to reframe the intent. Is the intent to make your environment inclusive? Is your intent to make it more of a humanitarian effort, we\u2019re all human beings? Or is the intent so you don\u2019t lose money and you don\u2019t get sued?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And working with the Milwaukee Bucks, who are great, but I also work with several other sports teams behind the scenes. And that\u2019s something that I pick up on. How are we not going to get sued. It\u2019s the constant thing that I hear about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so I talk about my mental health and how do I corral that and how do I control that in ways and recognizing their intent? And so the closed captions\u2013 and even when they place that, is it up to speed? Are there delays? If it\u2019s delayed, it\u2019s inaccessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Public service announcements, those are never interpreted. And if it is closed caption, there\u2019s a significant delay. There\u2019s so many different examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I use one often. I was at Lambeau Field for the home opener against the Green Bay Packers. And I was with three of my deaf friends. The closed captions malfunctioned, so they didn\u2019t even have access to any sort of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two, there was inclement weather. And so they were telling everyone to seek shelter after the game. How was that conveyed to deaf and hard of hearing individuals? It\u2019s not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it\u2019s those types of experiences that made me feel more confident in this role right now. Before I felt like the Milwaukee Bucks, for lack of a better term, were doing me a solid. Like, hey, we\u2019re going to help you out because this is a cool thing to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now they realize that it\u2019s important. But, with that, I\u2019m more confident and galvanized that I belong here. Professional sports interpreting and ASL accessibility has a place in professional sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;Yeah. I think accessibility, you mentioned, has really become how are we going to avoid a lawsuit. What is the legal requirement? What\u2019s kind of the bare minimum I can do to check off the box? And that\u2019s not what it is and not what it should be. It\u2019s not a trend. It\u2019s people\u2019s access and people\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I do think, over the last year and a half, it seems that accessibility has maybe become more in the spotlight. I hope it continues to do so. But I think you raised a really good point as well, that it\u2019s a privilege to be able to communicate without an interpreter and in our own first language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as you were talking through the experience and describing what it might be like for a deaf individual to attend a sports game, I was kind of picturing how I would feel and what it would be like if I were to go to a sports game in another country where I didn\u2019t speak the language, and how overwhelming that might be if that was not just a one-day experience, but if that was every time you went out to a sports game or the grocery store or a concert or whatever the case may be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I certainly think that the work that you\u2019re doing is really critical. And I\u2019m glad that you feel that it\u2019s kind of becoming more necessary and certainly not a favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;I appreciate that. I wanted to add something to that. When you mentioned\u2013 that\u2019s what I\u2019d like for hearing individuals and people in professional sports. There\u2019s this aura that people have about professional sports and where everyone wants to work in professional sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Everyone wants to attend game\u2013 or people that are sports fans want to attend games. And I think that there\u2019s this leverage that sports teams have. Like, they know the power that they have that people are going to continue to come through the doors. But what I\u2019d like is for hearing individuals that work with sports teams to just kind of take a walk in someone\u2019s shoes where you don\u2019t have access. Just reframe that for a second, and that will increase more fan engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;You also brought up a really good point about podcasting and the lack of accessibility around podcasting. You mentioned, sure, you can add a transcript, but that\u2019s not necessarily the full experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think many people assume that captions are sufficient as well in providing access to deaf and hard of hearing viewers. I\u2019m specifically thinking in recorded or sports on TV or online, where you\u2019re not live at a game. Do you hear this argument a lot? And can you talk about why this assumption is false and why both captioning and ASL are important for full access?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;I really appreciate this question. It\u2019s such a great question, too. And that\u2019s sort of\u2013 it\u2019s kind of my competitor. And I mean that respectfully. And the value of captions, that\u2019s the bare minimum of access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like, if you\u2019re providing captions, you\u2019re providing the bare minimum of access. But there\u2019s so much more that could be done. And I think once sports teams and other aspects in society\u2013 when they recognize that they can do more, it\u2019s not an expense. It\u2019s an investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you do more, there are so many different examples of inventions and innovations that were created for people with disabilities that now impact us as a whole. For example, texting. That was created for deaf individuals to communicate. Now we all text as a form of communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I think the lens of we\u2019re doing this to support people with disabilities, or we\u2019re doing this to support deaf and hard of hearing individuals, I\u2019d like to reframe that and say that when you start implementing these sorts of things, it has a ripple effect for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For captions, for example, there are a lot of times where I don\u2019t want to put the sound on. Whether I\u2019m in bed, I\u2019m in a public place and I don\u2019t want to be loud\u2013 there are so many instances where I\u2019ll just scroll through. If a video is not captioned, I won\u2019t even look at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so it\u2019s not that captions is just for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. It\u2019s for everyone. And these examples of maybe being in a public place where you don\u2019t want to be a distraction, but you still want to access this information, captions provides that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I think captions has a critical role not just for deaf and hard of hearing individuals, but for everyone as a whole. In terms of American Sign Language interpreting, oftentimes you\u2019ll see like, oh, we provided captions, so we\u2019re being accessible. But I think people don\u2019t realize that\u2013 so there are 48 million deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States alone. And there are two million that use American Sign Language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so when you look at that, that means that English is their second language. So typically they\u2019re not as proficient in English. So when you\u2019re providing captions and saying, hey, we\u2019re accommodating you, what you\u2019re telling someone is that you better be proficient in English. And you better understand what all these words mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think, in terms of interpreting, you can see a word like run, for example. Well, running water, I ran for president, I ran around the block\u2013 when you interpret that, you interpret those into three different interpretations. But when you see that in captions, all it says is run. So then you\u2019re forcing the deaf and hard of hearing individual to go, all right, and break down what they\u2019re reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you\u2019re putting a lot of burden on deaf and hard of hearing individuals to access the information. They\u2019re also taking their eyes off of the visual nature of whether it\u2019s a press conference, interview, what have you. And you\u2019re relying them just to pay attention to the captions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, captions doesn\u2019t provide inflection, tone, pace, humor, sarcasm, which sign language interpreting does. And I think when we provide captions as well as interpreting, we\u2019re really providing an accessible environment for everyone. And we\u2019re not putting the burden on a deaf and hard of hearing individual to accommodate to what accommodations are being provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;Yeah, I wanted to mention\u2013 I think it\u2019s worth noting here for those that may not be familiar. And you can certainly speak to this better than I can. But ASL isn\u2019t just a visual representation of English. It\u2019s its own language. It has its own structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And a lot of words in English don\u2019t have precise translations into ASL. I would love if you could talk about some of the nuances of translating sports terminology into ASL and how you\u2019ve done that. And I think that really can help clarify why it\u2019s so critical to have both ASL and captions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;This is, again\u2013 like, I love the questions. And I love the dialogue, too, because it\u2019s organic. Yeah, I love this question, too, because I might have mentioned this at the beginning or in our pre-recording. I struggled with imposter syndrome. I have my entire life. But I struggled once I became the first professional sports sign language interpreter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I didn\u2019t want to be. That wasn\u2019t what I was seeking out to be. I wasn\u2019t looking to be the first. And I accept that responsibility. And it\u2019s taken me a while to be comfortable in that regard, one, because it\u2019s never been done before. And two, what were people viewing me as?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You have hearing individuals. For example, like the Milwaukee Bucks, we had conversations where they said, we don\u2019t really know what you\u2019re interpreting. But we\u2019re confident that you\u2019re interpreting it effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that always sort of stuck with me is because it\u2019s true. They put a lot of trust in me that I was getting up there and interpreting effectively. For the deaf and hard of hearing community, and also for the hearing community, I was being that\u2013 for lack of a better term, that poster child of what accessibility in sports could be like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it was a heavy burden for me. So it took me a while to get comfortable in that. And I think if you would have asked me two years ago, I probably would have declined this opportunity to be on the podcast just because I didn\u2019t want it to make it about me. And that was something that I had to work on, where I have this opportunity to spread awareness and share insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In terms of interpreting on the fly, it goes back to these experiences. And I talked about how my networking and setting up pro bono services throughout the city of Milwaukee gave me that opportunity with Fiserv Forum and the Milwaukee Bucks. I share that also because we can\u2019t understand in the moment, but we can understand when we look back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And all these sorts of interactions that I had with my father, interpreting at Lambeau Field or watching a game on television, my dad saying, hey, what are they saying and me interpreting it\u2013 Little did I know I was getting practice, and little did I know that I was actually preparing myself 25 years later to do this as a career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so it\u2019s those types of experiences and those interactions that I had that allowed me to be very comfortable in interpreting sports. I used to attend a lot of deaf club events, and the topic of conversation was always sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deaf and hard of hearing people are rabid sports fans. And that\u2019s another reason why I\u2019m doing what I\u2019m doing, is because it breaks my heart to think that they love sports so much, yet sports teams and professional sports in general exclude them on a regular basis. And so that\u2019s another reason of being a conduit and being an ally, so they can appreciate all these other nuances that they\u2019re missing out on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not to pity them. It\u2019s just to raise awareness. But it\u2019s those interactions that I had growing up and talking about baseball, talking about basketball, football, and getting that terminology, where it was almost embedded in my brain, and then also interacting with the deaf community. My close friends are huge football fans. We\u2019re always talking about sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And a lot of times, I just sit back and I try to absorb how they\u2019re using the language. All those experiences allowed me to sort of interpret on the fly. But it was a work in progress. I remember the first couple of times, it didn\u2019t feel natural. It felt forced. I felt like I was processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I didn\u2019t realize how fast press conferences were. And so it\u2019s that speed and trying to figure out. And also, there\u2019s all this attention on me. Journalists, tech support, the president, the owners\u2013 they were all staring at me in this little press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So not only did I have to interpret that information, but also I had to corral these emotions and realizing that I really was being put under the microscope. In terms of interpreting, it\u2019s been a work in progress where I have deaf friends, and I also have three deaf consultants that I work with that I will say, hey, I heard this term in a press conference. How would you interpret this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so what I\u2019d like to let people know is that I don\u2019t have all the answers. And I\u2019m a lifelong learner, and I\u2019m always constantly trying to get better. But it takes a village. And, for me, it\u2019s connecting with the deaf community, sharing things that I don\u2019t know, and saying, hey, I don\u2019t know this, and being vulnerable and saying how can I interpret this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then also realizing that every press conference, any time that I would be interpreting professional sports, knowing that I\u2019m not going to always interpret it effectively. But I\u2019m always going to strive to try to get that correct interpretation, if you will. But it really is staying connected with the deaf community, being a fly on the wall with their conversations about sports, and just sort of grasping at like, oh, they use that sign for rebound or assist and being like, OK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But a lot of that is conversations I had with my father growing up. So I\u2019ve been able to unlock that and share that with the world now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;Something that I think is really unique about accessibility and you sort of mentioned the imposter syndrome, and you were really one of the first to sort of do this. But one of the unique things about accessibility is that it sort of builds and improves over time. So your work, even though it started out new and very unique, is going to pave the way for future access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I do want to ask you a little bit about your company, Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting, which you started in 2020, sort of right before the pandemic began. Can you share a little bit about what your company does and maybe some of the obstacles you faced in getting that business started, and kind of where you see it going in the future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;So when I proposed to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019, I had just been functioning under my sole business, Brice Christianson Interpreting, where I focus on coordinating. I do a lot of press conferences, a lot of community work. And now it\u2019s all video remote interpreting because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it was those conversations with President Peter Feigin and other people within the Milwaukee Bucks that said, hey, have you ever thought about creating a sports interpreting company. And I remember telling them I already have a business. I already have Brice Christianson Interpreting. So I\u2019m just going to function like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And they suggested that it would be smart to set up your own professional sports interpreting company. And we were getting started to expand, and they were supporting me. It\u2019s been a beautiful marriage, if you will, because I\u2019ve supported them, and they\u2019ve supported me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I don\u2019t think that\u2013 I haven\u2019t had that type of relationship with other teams. A lot of it has been a la carte. It\u2019s been one offs, which is fine. But that\u2019s the beautiful thing about the Milwaukee Bucks is when you saw them boycott during the NBA bubble after Jacob Blake was shot, that\u2019s not just PR. That\u2019s not just like, hey, we\u2019re going to do this because it makes us look good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s embedded in their fabric, and you can see that. And that allowed me to feel confident in, all right, we\u2019re on to something here. And then, as you have it, COVID-19 came. And the pandemic shuttered through, and the lockdown happened and the NBA shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And we were just in the first steps in its infancy of creating a professional sports interpreting company. And so when the lockdown happened I spent a good two, three weeks being very angry, almost like those\u2013 like the stages of grief. And I was angry because, one, I felt like the opportunity was gone. And I felt like we weren\u2019t going to get another opportunity because the whole world has changed, and no one is going to care about this anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it wasn\u2019t until we went to the NBA bubble that they wanted to resume interpreting, but all through video remote interpreting. And so I had to learn how to edit and produce and do all that stuff, put the picture in picture in the press conferences. I learned that on the fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s where I realized that I should create my own company. And so it was right after the NBA bubble that I established Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting. And we focus solely on, one, providing interpreting access in professional sports. But I do a lot of consulting with professional sports teams, one, in how to make their arena, stadium, park accessible, two, how to interact with deaf and hard of hearing sports fans. And, three, I also do presentations for employee resource groups where if they were to hire deaf or hard of hearing employees how would that look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So not only is it providing interpreting in press conferences, but I have realized that a lot of my work is consulting, educating professional sports teams, and how they don\u2019t have to feel, for lack of a better term, awkward and knowing that they have an opportunity to connect with the company, like Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting, where I also use deaf representation. And I don\u2019t use that for PR or for business leverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m not deaf, and I don\u2019t pretend to be. And I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to be deaf. And so the last thing I want to do is speak on behalf of deaf and hard of hearing people. And so that\u2019s why I have two deaf consultants and one hard of hearing consultant, where I make sure that everything that we\u2019re implementing is cutting edge, but also it\u2019s applicable to what deaf and hard of hearing individuals are facing right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But a lot of what our company does is education in how to make arenas more accessible, and then also helping teams host ASL night or deaf awareness nights, and making sure that it\u2019s not from a hearing perspective. It\u2019s from a deaf perspective. What do deaf and hard of hearing sports fans want? And that\u2019s what I hope to cultivate and execute with Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;You mentioned\u2013 and you mentioned this a couple of times, that you have sort of a network or community of deaf individuals who do help inform you with some of the nuances and everything in the language. And I\u2019m curious what your response has been like from deaf fans. Being a hearing interpreter, what has that been like? And do you have any kind of stories that you can share with us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;Yeah. You know, growing up in the deaf community and my relationship with my father, which\u2013 that shaped my lens and how I viewed the deaf community. And I always knew that there are hearing individuals that take advantage of the deaf community for monetary gain or for fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that was another concern of mine when the Milwaukee Bucks agreed to becoming the first professional sports team to provide an interpreter. It was like, oh, this is no longer just a figment of my imagination. This is a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s why I really struggled with this imposter syndrome and how was I going to be viewed. Was the deaf community going to hate me because it was another hearing person in the spotlight? You see a lot of music interpreters that go viral. And a lot of times it\u2019s fixated on the interpreter and the hearing person, yet the deaf community is excluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re seeing more and more representation now in movies, in TV shows, models, actors, what have you. And so knowing that the pace and the speed of press conferences right now, it\u2019s really hard to have a certified deaf interpreter in there. And so I\u2019m a placeholder right now and realizing that once we get to a step where I sort of have full control on how to provide an accessible environment, that\u2019s where we\u2019ll have more deaf representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so I had to accept the fact that there are going to be individuals within the deaf and hard of hearing community that wasn\u2019t going to understand my intent. But, at the same time, they don\u2019t know who I am. And I had to be OK with that and get comfortable in my own skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pandemic really allowed me to say, you know what, I believe in this. And I also\u2013 I\u2019m not trying to help the deaf community. I want to make sure that people look at the deaf community as a cultural and linguistic minority, not as a disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so I often say, for people that work within the deaf and hard of hearing realm, you need to find your deaf and hard of hearing community. And what that means is I have a strong relationship with my mother. Two of my best friends are deaf. I have two colleagues that we get coffee on a monthly basis. And then I have three consultants that I work with that are deaf and hard of hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They\u2019re my connection to the deaf community. And it\u2019s almost like it\u2019s a checks and balances sort of thing. I always try to navigate in a humble manner, and try to take it one day at a time, and realize that I don\u2019t have the answers, and realize why I\u2019m doing this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s so that my father, who was angry at this world that excluded him, that no other people experience the same anger and distrust and exclusion that he does, and realizing that my privilege has an opportunity to make it a better and more accessible environment for deaf and hard of hearing individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sports has a ripple effect where it doesn\u2019t just affect sports. It affects society. And so it allows other organizations to say, wait a minute. If the Milwaukee Bucks are providing a sign language interpreter, and we haven\u2019t, maybe we should too. And so knowing that there are going to be individuals that don\u2019t understand my why, and that\u2019s OK. And I hope that, in time, they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I also stay connected with my deaf community, and they sort of have a checks and balances with me. They\u2019ll provide feedback and insight to make sure that we\u2019re not getting ahead of ourselves. And I think that\u2019s probably one of the biggest hurdles is realizing that it takes time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re seeing a lot of diversity, equity, and inclusion being the buzzword. And you\u2019re seeing a lot of that. But also the Civil Rights movement in the \u201970s, I mean, look how far we\u2019ve come with that. And we\u2019re still fighting all these sorts of forms of racism and oppression. That\u2019s going to happen with the deaf community and professional sports, and not taking it so personal and realizing that we\u2019re better than where we were a day before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;Absolutely. As we wrap up, I\u2019m curious if you have any final pieces of advice or any sort of last tidbits that you want to share with our listeners. And I\u2019d also love if you could share where our listeners can find you and connect with you online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;Yeah. Once again, thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about this it\u2019s so near and dear to my heart. And it also gives me solace in knowing that there are people out there that are seeing what we\u2019re doing. I know I\u2019m a one man shop right now with Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, really, it takes a village. I\u2019m here because of my experiences of growing up. I\u2019m here because of my connection with the deaf community. I\u2019m here because of my love and slightly obsessive nature with professional sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I think the biggest thing that I want people to realize is what we can do, and realizing that it\u2019s OK if we make mistakes. And I think that\u2019s part of how we can grow and how we can learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But how can we be allies? And I know that word gets thrown around a lot, like I\u2019m an ally. And I think that\u2019s where I\u2019m conservative in that nature where I try not to promote because what I know today I didn\u2019t know yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so I think the biggest thing is realizing that communication access is a fundamental right for all human beings, and realizing that whenever we\u2019re walking around and we can hear and we can access information, it\u2019s a privilege. And how can we make this world a more accessible environment for all walks of life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And this isn\u2019t to pity the deaf and hard of hearing community and say, oh, they can\u2019t hear, but also reframe it and realize that they\u2019re a cultural and linguistic minority. They have a different experience. And I think that\u2019s what makes our world so unique is we have all these different perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I just encourage every individual to be open in realizing that it can be awkward. It can be uncomfortable. But realizing how beautiful life is where you start to learn a little bit more about all these other walks of life and how we can support one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so, really, it\u2019s about raising awareness and how can we make this world a more accessible world for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. And that\u2019s where professional sports comes in. It has that ripple effect. If we can provide access there, we can provide it in other ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But where you can find me\u2013 you can find me on my website at playbyplayinterpreting.com. I\u2019m very active on LinkedIn and Twitter. On Twitter, it\u2019s @Brice_PXP. You can also find Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting there at @PXP_ASL. And then on LinkedIn, it\u2019s Brice Christianson, as well as Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting on LinkedIn. You can also find my videos on YouTube as well at Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But thank you so much, and I hope I didn\u2019t ramble too much with my answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;Not at all. Thank you so much, Brice. I really enjoyed having you on Allied today, and really excited about our conversation and to see where Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting goes in the future. So thanks again for being here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BRICE CHRISTIANSON:<\/strong>&nbsp;My pleasure. Thank you so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[MUSIC PLAYING]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>ELISA LEWIS:<\/strong>&nbsp;Thanks for listening to Allied. If you enjoyed this episode, and you\u2019d like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or leave us a rating and review. To catch all the latest on accessibility visit www.3playmedia.com\/alliedpodcast. Thanks again, and I\u2019ll see you next time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained has-background\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70);background-image:url(&#039;\/wp-content\/themes\/core\/assets\/media\/backgrounds\/cta-wave.svg&#039;);background-position:8% 97%;background-size:cover;\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group aligngrid is-style-default is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-right:0;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:0\">\n<p class=\"is-style-overline is-style-overline--4\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--25);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\">Contact Us<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-default has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b2eaac4c wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-balanced-text alignwide\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">Thank you for listening to Allied!<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group aligngrid has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-5ba60c8d wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<p class=\"is-style-large is-style-large--5\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--25);margin-right:0;margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-right:0\">For show information and updates, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.3playmedia.com\/alliedpodcast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">our website<\/a>. To get in touch, email us at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:Allied@3playmedia.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Allied@3playmedia.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-c5e40b1b wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-primary\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PodcastAllied\">Follow Us on Facebook<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-primary is-style-outlined is-style-outlined--6\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PodcastAllied\">Follow Us on X<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Transcript Welcome to 3Play Media\u2019s Allied Podcast, a show on all things accessibility. This month\u2019s episode features Brice Christianson of&nbsp;Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting&nbsp;and is about ASL interpretation for professional sports. Brice Christianson is a professional sports sign language interpreter and founder of Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting. Brice was born to two Deaf parents and grew up surrounded&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"parent":13728,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13897","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Allied Podcast: Professional Sports Interpreting with Brice Christianson<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this episode of Allied Podcast, Elisa chats with Brice Christianson about professional sports ASL interpreting.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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