Patrick Mahomes may have been the MVP of Super Bowl LVII, but for music and film enthusiasts at home, there was another star of the show — sign language interpreters.
Chris Stapleton's national anthem was performed by ASL award winner Troy Kotsur, who also acted as a background singer. While it's common for national anthem performances to employ sign language interpreters, they rarely employ such prominent individuals.
Kotsur stated that he agreed to participate in a recent interview with Variety because he wanted the deaf community to enjoy a performance of the song with as much artistic intensity as Stapleton's.
“It’s a lot of pain,” he added of previous broadcasts that included ASL interpreters. “And music isn’t really my thing — but of course I enjoy signing songs.”
On Sunday night, Kotsur was far from the only ASL interpreter to capture viewers' hearts. When Rihanna took the stage for her much-awaited halftime performance, she was accompanied by ASL interpreter Justina Miles, who impressed fans with her lively ASL interpretation of pop songs. Her performance drew widespread praise on social media, highlighting the importance of ASL in live performances.