First amputee player signed for world’s top sporting league

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Central Florida line-breaker Shaquem Griffin will be the first player with a permanent physical disability to get a contract in the American National Football League.

The Seattle Seahawks have has signed Shaquem Griffin in the fifth round (141st overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. Griffin, who lost his left hand at the age of 4 because of a rare condition before birth, quickly became an inspiration to others with disabilities, official NFL website nfl.com has reported.

“That was the phone call I was waiting my entire life,” Griffin said regarding the call he received from Seahawks general manager John Schneider when he was drafted. “I literally broke down after that. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know how to talk, I mean, I was just lost for words.”

The 6-foot, 227-pound Griffin dazzled at the NFL Scouting Combine with a blistering 4.38 time in the 40-yard dash, which ranked first among linebackers present in Indianapolis. He also posted 20 repetitions on the bench-press event.

Seattle’s selection on Saturday also produced a family reunion, as the Seahawks selected cornerback Shaquill Griffin, who was born one minute before his brother, in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Shaquill said he frequently lobbied the Seahawks’ brass on his brother’s behalf.

“I was using the restroom, and my brother came and tackled me with my cellphone, saying ‘Answer it, answer it!’” Shaquem Griffin said while waiting for a ride back to AT&T Stadium where he would do several media interviews during the final day of the draft. “I looked, and that’s when tears just started pouring down right then and there. I literally went into the restroom and my brother busted in and tackled me. I think I was more scared of him tackling me in the bathroom for not knowing what’s happening, than anything. That’s how it happened,” Seahawks official website has quoted Shaquem as saying.

Shaquill Griffin, who was in Dallas with his brother, did not deny this intrusion.

“It was crazy,” the Seahawks corner said. “He wasn’t really looking at the phone anymore, I wasn’t looking for it. He got up to go to the bathroom, and then it was a couple picks away, and then the phone rang, and I saw the 425 Area code. I know the 425, the 206, I know the area codes for Seattle. When I saw that, I grabbed the phone and jumped over everybody else on the floor, and went to the bathroom—I’m glad he didn’t lock the door—I went into the bathroom and grabbed him, ‘What are you doing, you have to grab this.’ I said, ‘You don’t have time for this.’ I handed him the phone, and that’s how it went.

Asked to confirm that he actually tackled his brother, Shaquill said, “Yes, I needed him to be focused.”

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