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Raymond Nelson fell in love with basketball at an early age and played the sport in college.
Now, he’s a referee for youth teams in Southern California, all without hearing his own whistle. Nelson says he lets coaches know he’s deaf before the game starts, so they know to get in his visual field when they want to call a time-out. When parents are angry with a call, Nelson is unruffled.
He hopes to one day take his refereeing skills to the college or NBA level.