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How Michael Pittman Jr.’s stutter has helped shape him into a leader for the Indianapolis Colts

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2 years ago

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How Michael Pittman Jr.’s stutter has helped shape him into a leader for the Indianapolis Colts


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  • Stephen HolderESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — Like every high-level athlete in pursuit of perfection, Michael Pittman Jr. had overprepared for the duty at hand.

On this occasion, the enterprise for the Indianapolis Colts huge receiver was not beating an opposing defensive again off the road of scrimmage. It was, reasonably, delivering an tackle throughout a current assembly of the crew’s management council.

“I had this speech all ready,” Pittman mentioned. “I had rehearsed it. I knew each single phrase of it …

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“However I simply could not do it.”

This wasn’t a matter of willingness. It was, as an alternative, one thing past his management.

The 25-year-old Pittman has stuttered for so long as he can keep in mind.

Pittman, like many individuals with a stutter, is unable to manage or predict when situations would possibly happen. And this time was no totally different.

“I simply botched it and shortened it up as a result of I used to be sitting up there, saying ‘Duh, duh, duh,’” Pittman mentioned.

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Pittman made it by the speech. He knew what he needed to say, however he nonetheless doesn’t know whether or not it was conveyed.

“Principally, my message was do not be glad,” he mentioned. “That was after we had simply gained two straight. So, that was my predominant message that I could not actually get throughout.”

Pittman’s willingness to place himself on the market, to embrace the problem of delivering a speech in entrance of his friends, tells you all the things you have to learn about how he has dealt with his stutter.

“He’s by no means let it cease him from doing something,” Pittman’s mom, Kristin Randall, mentioned. “He has all the time gone ahead.”

Pittman’s evolution on the sphere, the place he has turn into the Colts’ No. 1 receiving risk and is seventh within the NFL with 67 receptions and sixteenth in receiving yards with 678, is accompanied by one off the sphere. He has refused to let an often-misunderstood speech incapacity outline him, and within the course of, has turn into one thing of a job mannequin for the roughly three million People who stutter.

WHEN PITTMAN FINALLY bought up the nerve to ask his teenage girlfriend to go regular, he wrote it down.

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“I had simply turned 14,” he mentioned. “I simply knew I used to be gonna stutter. So, I took a marker and wrote it to her on a mirror. I didn’t even get to complete earlier than she mentioned sure.”

For Pittman, there was an excessive amount of at stake.

“I didn’t wanna mess that one up,” he mentioned.

He didn’t. Michael and Kianna have been married for 2 years now and have an toddler daughter, Mila.

Michael now not worries about stuttering round Kianna, however the genesis of their relationship is an indicator of how extensively a stutter can impression an individual’s life.

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“Lots of people who stutter will attempt to keep away from sure interactions if they’ll do it over the telephone, in a textual content or an electronic mail,” mentioned Julia Rademacher, a speech pathologist and professor at Indiana College. “Lots of people who stutter will simply get your hands on different methods to speak simply to keep away from some stuff.”

Interactions will be notably daunting for kids due to a lack of expertise by different youngsters. Pittman can attest to this. So, too, can his mom, who made it her mission to guard her son every time attainable.

“After I was round, the atmosphere was managed,” Randall mentioned. “After I wasn’t round, there was no management of what was mentioned or what individuals had been saying round him. I all the time understood what he was saying. I may perceive him, however others could not. So, myself and my daughter [Jordanne, Michael’s older sister], we’d converse for him.

“I used to be all the time within the college. I used to be volunteering, I bought him lodging, I made it so he did not need to learn out loud, so he may learn his speech privately to his instructor. I attempted to make it so he didn’t have to talk in entrance of others.”

Randall and Jordanne had been vociferous defenders. And Randall’s persistence in getting Michael into speech remedy courses paid dividends. He discovered key methods to navigate his stuttering, a few of which he makes use of to this present day.

However that doesn’t imply there weren’t troublesome instances. His mom couldn’t all the time be there.

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“Particularly at a younger age,” Michael mentioned. “Now, generally it bothers me, however I’m cool with it. However again then, it was simply the strain of it, everyone you want, ‘He’s bizarre.’ No person desires to undergo that.”

Soccer has outlined a lot of Pittman’s life, so unsurprisingly, it performed a job on this a part of his story, too. Pittman had all the time gravitated to the sport. His father, Michael Sr., performed operating again within the NFL for 11 seasons.

An attention-grabbing factor occurred through the years: The longer the youthful Pittman spent across the recreation and his core group of teammates he’d grown up with, the much less his stutter appeared to matter.

Pittman’s teammates turned like an extension of his household. They understood him and accepted him.

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“You develop a crew of fellows that see you so usually that they virtually overlook about it,” Pittman mentioned.

However there have been nonetheless nerve-racking moments for Randall. When Pittman began gaining consideration as an elite prospect in Southern California, his All-American standing attracted interview requests and important recruiting buzz. He would invariably discover himself in conditions the place he may get caught and start to stutter.

“After I hear him converse now in an interview or on TV, I’m amazed, as a result of I could not even do higher than that myself,” Randall mentioned. “He’s an amazing public speaker now, which I by no means thought I might say. That was the one factor that scared me to demise when he was in highschool, as a result of he began doing interviews, and when there was an interview that was coming, I might be like, ‘OK, come on, let’s discuss this. Inform me what you are gonna say.’ He’d be like, ‘No, I bought it.’”

Mom and son would do mock media interviews at residence to arrange him for the potential of getting out of conditions the place his phrases stopped flowing.

Now, soccer continues to be a supply of confidence for Pittman. Because the Colts’ prime wideout, he naturally finds himself in a management position. It’s a place he has embraced.

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“With the kind of individual and participant that he’s, the boldness oozes out,” Colts receiver Parris Campbell mentioned. “He’s [lived] with this so long as he can keep in mind. He is aware of it and he’s conscious of it and he’s capable of deal with it.

“It doesn’t matter what the problem is, he’s going to step up as a result of that’s the sort of chief that he’s.”

RADEMACHER WAS THRILLED to listen to about Pittman’s willingness to open up about his journey. Pittman is an rising star on tempo for his second consecutive 1,000-yard season, and he is a superb public face, she mentioned.

“It’s not totally inside their management to simply decelerate or say it once more simply or to do all these issues that individuals assume ought to work,” mentioned Rademacher, a neighborhood chapter chief for the Nationwide Stuttering Affiliation in Bloomington, Indiana. “So, then that sort of begins that sample of that response of children who stutter to not speak a lot, perhaps not contribute a lot in school or be prepared to take part in issues that require speaking.

“It’s simply, once more, that misunderstanding by the general public of why does somebody stutter and how are you going to assist them?”

As a result of such a small share of the general public stutters, those that do can really feel remoted.

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Pittman has been there. He described the sensation of being caught midsentence whereas making an attempt to convey a thought as akin to paralysis, “The place you’ll be able to’t transfer. You’re very acutely aware, however you simply can’t transfer. You realize precisely what you need to say, however you simply can’t do it.”

However Pittman’s perspective has propelled him previous these remoted emotions. He seems ahead to in the future sharing his story with Mila. No matter challenges she is confronted with, her father sees an relevant lesson in his personal street by life.

“Hey, not everyone loves each half about themselves,” he plans to inform her, “however you’ve bought to study to adore it.”



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Indianapolis, IN

Colts players and coaches speak on Samson Ebukam's injury

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7 hours ago

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July 30, 2024

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Colts players and coaches speak on Samson Ebukam's injury


WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — The Colts lost a major contributor to last year’s defense to injury, Samson Ebukam, who suffered a torn Achilles’ at training camp on Sunday.

Ebukam led the team in sacks last season with 9.5.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen talked about Ebukam’s injury on Tuesday after practice.

“That’s a tough break for us,” Steichen said. “I mean, what a great competitor he is. The sacks he had last year, and he was just continuing in the right direction. So, big blow there but guys have got to step up.”

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Fortunately for the Colts, they have a lot of depth at defensive end. Kwity Paye, Dayo Odeyingbo, and Tyquan Lewis combined for 20.5 sacks last season for the Colts. Plus, they drafted Laiatu Latu in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Ebukam and Latu built a strong bond in the past few months since Latu was drafted.

“That’s my big bro,” Latu said. “So, I was learning a lot from him. He’s been like a big brother to me since I got here, even before. I watch a lot of film on him. He’s just been somebody that I really look up to. So, I really just want to go out here and play for him and be able to do what he does on the field so that it doesn’t feel like we’re missing a link.”

With the loss of Ebukam, Steichen said that the reps are likely going to pick up for the rest of the guys at defensive end. But, he said they’re going to have be smart about it during training camp.

While Latu has been really impressive so far in training camp, Steichen also had great things to say about Lewis for the depth that the Colts have at the position.

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“He’s tremendous for us,” Steichen said. “He’s been here for a while. Just the way he goes about his business every single day, the way he rushes the passer. I mean, he’s a leader in that room for a reason and we’re extremely excited to have him.”

“We still have a lot of great leaders in that room,” Lewis said. “We know that we have a void to fill. He (Ebukam) was our sack leader last year, but we’re going to come in waves. We all stick together as one.”

The Colts return to practice at training camp on Wednesday from 10-11:30 a.m.



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Indy ambulances now place overdose reversal drug in hands of most vulnerable

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14 hours ago

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July 30, 2024

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Indy ambulances now place overdose reversal drug in hands of most vulnerable


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INDIANAPOLIS — People who are most vulnerable to a drug overdose will now have medication that saves lives delivered directly to their hands. 

Indianapolis EMS medics responding to an overdose will offer kits to patients, their families, friends or bystanders. The kits include two doses of intranasal naloxone, a resource card with a QR code to the program’s webpage, how to sign up for text alerts about an overdose surge in Marion County and educational materials on recognizing an overdose and administering naloxone.  

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The initiative is part of the “Naloxone Leave Behind” project, in tandem with the Marion County Public Health Department.  

The program’s goal is to reduce overdose deaths in Marion County by delivering the opioid reversal medication naloxone directly to those who are statistically at higher risk of fatally overdosing in the future.  

“Indianapolis EMS stands among those who work on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic in our community, where seconds can mean the difference between life and death,” said Daniel O’Donnell, chief of Indianapolis EMS. “Increased access to naloxone can greatly increase survival chances in overdose situations, which can lead to more people seeking treatment to break the hold that addiction has on so many.”

Most people who fatally overdosed in Marion County in the first half of the year – about 62% −died in a home, according to a new report by the coroner’s office. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, continues to rank the most common substance driving up overdose deaths in the Indianapolis metro area.

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Fentanyl, methamphetamine: The Top 5 drugs fueling the overdose crisis in Indianapolis

How to sign up for ‘bad batch,’ overdose surge text alerts 

To receive texts about bad drug batches or overdose spikes in Marion County, text SOAR to 765-358-7627.   

Texts will be sent when a bad drug batch is detected, when a neighborhood sees a spike in overdose or when police conduct a drug seizure in an area — a move that research has shown disrupts the drug supply and increases overdose. The program, called the Community Harm Reduction and Improved Outcomes Team (CHARIOT), is part of the statewide nonprofit Overdose Lifeline, which aims to help individuals impacted by substance-use disorders. The Office of Public Health and Safety has partnered with the organization. 

‘Zombie drug’: The ’emerging threat’ for Indiana

Be in the know: Is your Indy neighborhood at risk for overdose?

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Other ways to get Narcan in Indianapolis

Narcan, the common name brand for naloxone, can be requested through Overdose Lifeline website at overdoselifeline.org. The supplies can be delivered anonymously.  

Contact reporter Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com



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‘Supernatural’ convention bringing stars Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki and more to Indy

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21 hours ago

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July 30, 2024

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‘Supernatural’ convention bringing stars Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki and more to Indy


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An SPN Family reunion is coming to Indianapolis.

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Creation Entertainment’s “The Road So Far… The Road Ahead” tour is bringing stars of the CW’s “Supernatural” to downtown Indy next month, including Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and more. The weekend-long event includes panels, meet-and-greet opportunities as well as a special event hosted by Collins.

Here’s what you need to know about the event, scheduled for Aug. 23-25.

‘The Deliverance’: New Lee Daniels film inspired by an infamous Indiana haunting hits Netflix next month

Where is the ‘Supernatural’ convention in Indianapolis?

The Marriott Indianapolis Downtown, 350 W. Maryland St. Aug. 23-25.

Lineup includes Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins and more

According to the event’s website, the following stars and special guests are expected to attend the event:

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  • Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester)
  • Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester)
  • Misha Collins (Castiel)
  • Jeffrey Dean Morgan (John Winchester)
  • Samantha Smith (Mary Winchester)
  • Ruth Connell (Rowena MacLeod)
  • Rob Benedict (Chuck Shurley)
  • Richard Speight Jr. (Archangel Gabriel)
  • Matt Cohen (young John Winchester, Archangel Michael)
  • Briana Buckmaster (Donna Hanscum)
  • Julian Richings (Death)
  • Kim Rhodes (Sheriff Jody Mills)
  • DJ Qualls (Garth Fitzgerald IV)
  • Osric Chau (Kevin Tran)
  • Adam Rose (TikToker)
  • Jason Manns (musician)

Creation cautions that all guests and scheduling are subject to change.

How much do Supernatural convention tickets cost?

Single-day general admission tickets start at $70 for Friday, $80 for Saturday and $100 for Sunday. A general admission weekend pass is $249.

A variety of weekend packages, with benefits like exclusive panels and autograph opportunities, range in price from $379 to $1,775. For tickets and more information, visit bit.ly/4d8xc16.

‘Supernatural’ meet-and-greets, autographs

Photo opportunities and autographs will be available for purchase with many of the scheduled guests. Here are the prices for photos and autographs with the headlining stars:

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  • Jensen Ackles: Photos $199 / Autographs available for gold and silver weekend patrons only
  • Jared Padalecki: Photos $199 / Autographs $169 (will not be signing for gold and silver patrons)
  • Misha Collins: Photos $149 (Saturday only) and $169 (in costume, Sunday only) / Autographs $119
  • Jeffrey Dean Morgan: Photos $199 / Autographs $169

Interactive opportunities with the featured guests don’t stop there. DJ Qualls will also host a masquerade-themed karaoke night with ticketed pre- and post-events.

For a full list of experiences and prices, visit bit.ly/4d8xc16.

What’s the schedule for the ‘Supernatural’ convention in Indy?

The full schedule has not yet been released as of late July. According to Creation’s website, the final schedule will be released closer to the event.

Misha Collins’ special event at Creation Indianapolis

Collins will host a special, 18+ event on Saturday evening called “It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time.” In a June Instagram post, he described it as a one-person show that’s “part memoir, part therapy and part indecent exposure.”

Do I need convention passes for Misha Collins’ show in Indy?

No; this is a separately ticketed event that does not overlap with the convention’s scheduled Saturday night concert. Tickets are priced at $79 for general admission and $139 to $189 for reserved seats. For more information, visit bit.ly/3WfAlFQ.

Things to do in Indianapolis: Our newsletter has the best concerts, art, shows and more — and the stories behind them

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Contact IndyStar pop culture reporter Holly Hays at holly.hays@indystar.com. Follow her on X/Twitter: @hollyvhays.





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