4 Deaf Football Players From RivCo Spotlighted During Super Bowl

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Tennis legend Billie Jean King and four football players from the California School for the Deaf in Riverside will be on the field as honored guests during the coin toss for Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. Joining them will be members of the High School Girls Flag League of Champions and girls youth tackle football players from the Inglewood Chargers and the Watts Rams.

The collective trailblazers in sport have been selected by the National Football League to be this year's "Legendary Coin Toss Captains" in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

California School for the Deaf players Trevin Adams, Christian Jimenez, Jory Valencia and Enos Zornoza were invited by the National Football League to stand with the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals captains in recognition of CSDR's stellar season and Title IX.

The Cubs went 12-1 last fall, with the only loss coming to Faith Baptist of Canoga Park in the Southern Section 8-man Division 2 final.

Adams, Jimenez, Valencia and Zornoza will be wearing their jerseys when they take the field to participate in the toss.

“I don’t think I ever thought I would go to the Super Bowl,” Jimenez, an offensive lineman, told a reporter for The New York Times. “My parents have never had that experience. I’m 16 years old and I’m doing the coin toss. I don’t think anything is ever going to replace this.”

Only last month, Adams, the team’s quarterback, was making plans to watch the Super Bowl on television with a friend. In late January, he was told by his school about the special invitation.

“I was in disbelief. I was like, ‘Is this a joke? You’ve got to be kidding me, right?’” he told The New York Times reporter. “It was amazement. And then I felt so honored.”

According to NFL officials, the players were selected as part of a celebration of Americans who defy stereotypes. There will also be deaf artists performing in the halftime show, officials said.

All of the California Honorary Captains will help celebrate a milestone in sport. Title IX was enacted in 1972, as part of the Education Amendments which, for the first time, provided equal funding for men and women at high schools, colleges and universities which received federal funding.

"It is an honor to stand with these outstanding student athletes and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX on one of the world's biggest stages," said King, who helped lead the Title IX effort. "It's hard to understand inclusion until you have been excluded, and I am proud to be part of this year's Super Bowl Coin Toss and the NFL's commitment to bring us together and make us stronger."

Before the Honorary Captains step onto the field, King will be narrating a special tribute to the 50th anniversary of Title IX and the impact made on the landscape of education and sport.

"Billie Jean King is a trailblazer who set in motion transcendent changes that led to the betterment of sports and society," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "Her inspiring drive for gender equality and equal access to opportunity has benefited generations, and her legacy continues through the football players that will surround her on Sunday, proving that football is truly for everyone."