Star Philadelphia Eagles running back Darren Sproles made his first Pro Bowl this year but that might not be the most inspiring thing he's done. The Philly favorite has taken his lifelong struggle with stuttering and has used it to help a teenaged girl who has been bullied over her own stutter, SB Nation reports.
Sproles is addressing his stutter publicly in an effort to help kids who are dealing with the same struggle that has kept him largely silent until now. He is a part of USA's NFL Characters Unite documentary, a film designed to pair football players who have faced challenges with children going through similar difficulties in an effort to address issues with bullying, prejudice and discrimination. The running back was paired with 16-year-old Sheila Smith, a high school student who has been teased for her stutter so often she decided not to speak at all in school to protect herself from bullying.
"I was teased every day," she said in the documentary. According to the filmmakers, she has become increasingly anti-social and refuses to participate in school activities. "It's a difficult thing to have to deal with in life."
Sproles spent time with the teen as cameras followed, giving her advice and encouraging her to not let the stutter get in the way of life experiences. Smith admitted her fear of speaking to people was preventing her from pursuing her love of fashion design, so Sproles introduced her to the fashion program at the Philadelphia YMCA and helped her design an anti-bullying t-shirt. He also introduced her to a local fashion designer, who has a stutter, to encourage the teen not to give up.
Throughout the afternoon, sitting side-by-side designing their t-shirts, Sproles noticed when Smith was talking about fashion, she didn't stutter.
"I feel like I got a gift," said Smith. "Now I can do stuff that I haven't been able to do."
Sproles' fear of stuttering during interviews almost caused him to decline the documentary but he wanted to help somebody who didn't have the same advantages football had given him.