Walker, Kenny

Born at Crane, TX; deafened by meningitis at age 2. Attended a deaf program at the University of Denver, CO. Went to University of Nebraska on a football scholarship, then drafted as a defensive tackle by the Denver Broncos in April 1991 and released in 1993. He then signed up with the Hamilton Tiger Cats (Canadian Football League) for one season, then played with the Calgary Stampeders. Left pro football to become a coach at the Iowa School for the Deaf. In 1998, left the Iowa School to become a strength coach intern at the University of Nebraska. After a short time as a youth counselor for the Tarkio (MO) Academy, he became an independent living specialist for deaf and hard of hearing persons at Midland Empire Resources for Independent Living (MERIL) in St. Joseph, MO, in 2005. Book-length biography is Roar of Silence (1998).