Last year was the first time Dan Orlovsky’s son, Madden, was on ESPN live for World Autism Awareness Day. I remember coming across the clip on Instagram and it immediately stopped my scroll. I watched it multiple times. I wept. I recognized in Dan the pride he has in his son. It was so touching and instantly relatable. Well, Madden made his triumphant return to the ESPN set yesterday and it was some of their best programming they do all year. I have linked to the clip below (ESPN does not let me share the clip on my site). The most tender part of the video starts at 8:00 and goes to 11:00. It will have you in tears, especially if you know someone with Autism (or have a heart), but if you have twelve minutes to spare, give the whole thing a watch.
I love that ESPN doesn’t just do a two-minute segment with Dan and Madden. Madden hangs out in the studio for a long time, provides some hilarious off-camera comments, and the entire studio features Madden’s drawings, which are perfect. So ESPN, from one little tiny blog to one giant, corporate, sports behemoth, thank you for highlighting the emotions, thoughts, excitement, and artistry of an autistic child. And to see Dan Orlovsky’s reactions is to see myself in similar moments I have had with London, albeit they weren’t in a fancy TV studio.
Madden Orlovsky decorates the NFL Live studio for World Autism Awareness Day.
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