MIAMI -- "Why have a sign language performance that is not accessible to anyone who would like to see it?" Christine Sun Kim wrote in an impassioned op-ed.
Christine Sun Kim is speaking out after feeling snubbed during her American Sign Language (ASL) performance of the National Anthem and “America the Beautiful” at Super Bowl LIV on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Florida.
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In an opinion piece published by The New York Times on Monday, the 40-year-old performer, known professionally as Ms. Kim, shared an impassioned message about the discrimination she felt directed her way on game day.
“As a child of immigrants, a grandchild of refugees, a Deaf women of color, an artist and a mother, I was proud to perform the national anthem and ‘America the Beautiful’ in American Sign Language at the opening of the Super Bowl on Sunday,” she wrote.
“On what was supposed to be a ‘bonus feed’ dedicated to my full performance on the Fox Sports website, the cameras cut away to show close-ups of the players roughly midway through each song,” she wrote.
Read More: Deaf Singer Super Bowl LIV National Anthem
“Why have a sign language performance that is not accessible to anyone who would like to see it? It’s 2020,” she continued.
Fox Sports did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PEOPLE.
Marlee Matlin, an actress who is Deaf and “has signed the anthem at three Super Bowls (in 1993, 2007 and 2016),” rallied behind Kim by sharing a video of her own on Twitter during the game.
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To ALL networks: next time at #SuperBowl when the signer like @chrisunkim is performing #NationalAnthem & America the Beautiful they should be on the broadcast the WHOLE time, not a few seconds. SHOW the beauty of ASL either in a bubble, split screen or next to singer It’s time!
“I thought the same. I was looking forward to watching that signing. Very disappointing!” one person responded. “Yes! I was disappointed they didn’t show her beautiful work throughout the whole song,” another added.
Read More: Super Bowl: NBC Discriminate Deaf Community
“You are a tireless advocate for equity [sic] and I applaud you for calling them out on this!!!!” a third person wrote.
One Twitter user called for action to be taken, writing: “Let’s take this one step further by recommending them that the ASL signer should be side by side with the other performer.”
Throughout Kim’s emotional op-ed, she expressed the hurt she felt following her performance.
“Being Deaf in America has always been political, and I needed to process some internal conflict before accepting,” she wrote. “I knew that some musical artists had refused opportunities to perform at the game last year in support of Colin Kaepernick. I wondered whether I should do the same.” ... Read The Full Story.
Follow @ChristineSunKim:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/chrisunkim
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/csk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisunkim
Website: https://christinesunkim.com
Wikipedia: https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Sun_Kim
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