Stuttering and Our Sports Heroes
Blog by Jane Fraser, President of the Stuttering Foundation
Sept. 22, 2026
For a school-aged child who stutters, discovering that a sports hero stutters, too, can replace “I am the only one” with a more hopeful truth: people who stutter can compete and succeed at the highest levels. Their example shows that stuttering does not have to shrink a child’s world.
Major League Baseball star George Springer offers perhaps the clearest example. He grew up stuttering, attended speech therapy, and once avoided speaking. As his career grew, however, he chose to be open—even when microphones revealed his stutter.
“I can’t spread a message to kids and adults if I’m not willing to put myself out there,” Springer said after agreeing to wear a microphone during an All-Star Game. “I understand I’m going to stutter. I don’t care. It is what it is. It’s not going to stop me from talking or having fun.”
Speech-language pathologist Loryn McGill, M.S., CCC-SLP showed what that visibility can mean in “Bringing It Home.” Her six-year-old client Brandon entered therapy believing he was the only person who spoke as he did. When he arrived wearing an Astros cap, McGill showed him a Stuttering Foundation newsletter with Springer on the cover.
Soon afterward, Brandon held a sign at a game reading, “Springer #4, I Stutter Too!” Springer came over, told him it was okay to stutter and gave him batting gloves. McGill wrote that identifying with someone he admired reduced Brandon’s concerns and helped him speak more openly about his stuttering.
Springer is not alone. Shaquille O’Neal remembers thinking, “Please don’t call on me,” in class. Today, the NBA legend and analyst says, “I still stutter to this day. But I’m more cool with it now.” Children need to hear both parts: he still stutters, and he is comfortable being himself.
Tiger Woods has described classroom questions as frightening. When he learned of a young fan being teased, Woods wrote, “I know what it’s like to be different and to sometimes not fit in,” and reminded the boy that people were on his side. Two-sport All-Star Bo Jackson has also spoken about avoiding answers in school and later working with a speech therapist.
McGill’s account offers an important clinical lesson: being open about stuttering, listening to the child’s experience, and connecting children with people who stutter can reduce isolation and build self-understanding.
Sports provide a familiar starting point. An SLP might ask which athletes matter to a student, share a short interview, and discuss fear, support, and acceptance. The point is not to copy an athlete’s techniques or imply that effort guarantees trouble-free speech. It is to show that a person can stutter openly, seek help, participate, and be heard.
To every child who stutters: the athlete you cheer for may know the same dread of being called on or the same hurt when someone laughs.
Help is available. A qualified speech-language pathologist can help a child and family understand stuttering, address difficult feelings and avoidance, and work with the school. The Stuttering Foundation offers free resources for school-aged children and families, teachers, and speech-language pathologists.
Athletes cannot replace good therapy and supportive families, but when they speak honestly, they build a bridge. They show children that stuttering belongs in the conversation—and that their voices belong there, too.
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