For Marlee Matlin, having the ASL performers at the Super Bowl LVIII pregame and halftime shows was exciting, a proud moment of inclusion for an underrepresented community.
The joy of seeing the ASL community represented is translated in her X post right before kickoff time.
But all that took a sour turn after CBS failed to show the ASL performers during the halftime show.
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The "CODA" actress took to social media to express how shocked she was for the misrepresentation.
“I am absolutely SHOCKED at CBS for introducing the Deaf performers at today’s pregame #SuperBowl and then not showing even one second (or more) of their performance… as has been tradition for the last 30 years. WHY!?” Matlin posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Although CBS has not yet addressed Matlin's comments, X users showed support to her post.
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“I think it was absolutely ridiculous to introduce and not show the performers,” a user wrote. “We all could learn so much by seeing them and we know they could easily do a split screen to show both at the same time!”
An ASL interpreter was assigned to each artist during the Super Bowl pregame show at Allegiant Stadium. Daniel Durant performed the National Anthem in American Sign Language alongside Reba McEntire. Anjel Piñero signed “America the Beautiful,” with Post Malone, while actor/choreographer Shaheem Sanchez accompanied Andra Day in “Lift Every Voice and Sing."
The NFL did promote a separate platform on the CBS Sports website where viewers could watch the full ASL performances. But according to an Axios study, ASL performers actually “appeared on screen for 8% or less” of the national anthem on the main Super Bowl broadcast.
Past Super Bowl ASL performances
At the 2023 Super Bowl, the ASL interpreters who appeared on the main broadcast included Colin Denny, Justina Miles and Oscar winner Troy Kotsur.
ASL performances at the Super Bowl have been highly celebrated in recent years and with room for growth, according to 2020 Super Bowl performer Christine Kim.
In a statement in the New York Times, Kim said that she was barely shown on the broadcast. “Why have a sign language performance that is not accessible to anyone who would like to see it?” she wrote. “To be honest, it was a huge disappointment — a missed opportunity in the struggle for media inclusiveness on a large scale. Though thrilled and excited to be on the field serving the deaf community, I was angry and exasperated.”
Matlin performed the national anthem in ASL at the Super Bowl, alongside Garth Brooks, in 1993.
