MAKING SPORTS MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR DEAF FANS

What is “Giannis Antetokounmpo” in American Sign Language? Well, long.

But Brice Christianson knows that if you just fingerspell “Giannis,” then everyone knows you’re referencing the Milwaukee Bucks’ global superstar.

Christianson is an alum of UWM’s Interpreter Training Program in the School of Education, now a stand-alone degree program in American Sign Language/ English Interpreting. He launched his P-X-P business (which stands for “play by play”) two years ago, focusing on interpreting for entertainment and sports.

He interprets news conferences for the Milwaukee Bucks and events for the National Hockey League, and he recently signed a deal with the OL Reign, a pro women’s soccer club in Seattle.

“Brice has been and continues to be an incredible resource to the Deaf community,” said Barry Baum, chief communications officer of the Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum. “Fans in the Deaf community have shown incredible appreciation of having him sign our press conferences for the coach and players, pregame and postgame.”

Both of Christianson’s parents were deaf, and he grew up with ASL.

His interest in sports interpreting initially grew from a podcast he started about the Green Bay Packers five years ago. A good friend, who is now his business partner, is deaf. That friend suggested he provide interpreting for the podcast.

“That’s when it clicked,” Christianson said. “I thought about my dad growing up, and from there, I really started looking at the inaccessibility of sports within the Deaf community.”

Although closed captioning is accessible, Christianson’s interpretation takes things to the next level. Providing deaf and hard of hearing fans access to their visual language, he said, conveys more of the emotion, inflection and tone of what is being said. – Kathy

Quirk