Like many great sports stories, Brice Christianson’s began at Lambeau Field. His family have been Green Bay Packers season ticket holders since before the 1967 Ice Bowl, and he and his father, who is Deaf, would regularly attend games.
Sitting in the stands, Christianson did his best to interpret the Lambeau announcers into American Sign Language (ASL) for his dad, but there was a clear gap for Deaf and hard-of-hearing fans.
Christianson wondered: “Why is the world designed for me and not for people like him?”
It was one of many lightbulb moments that led Christianson to become the first professional ASL sports interpreter, increasing access for Deaf fans around the country and beyond.
Training for firsts
Christianson felt a spark working with Deaf patients at a La Crosse hospital. He followed that inkling to UWM’s four-year ASL interpreting program, where he was also president of the Signing Student Association on campus.
He first combined his passion for sports and ASL when he created “The Unknown Packers Podcast” in 2017. At a friend’s suggestion, Christianson uploaded videos of himself interpreting the podcast episodes into ASL. “That was my first taste of, ‘Oh, this could be something,’” he said.
Going pro
Christianson stayed in Milwaukee after graduation, taking on interpreting gigs pro bono at local venues, which led to working at Fiserv Forum. That’s how he connected with the Milwaukee Bucks.
After providing music interpreting at the Fiserv Forum for a year, he had the confidence to ask Kieran Nulty, then the vice president of arena experience, for a lunch meeting. Soon after, he was standing next to then-head coach Mike Budenholzer and superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, interpreting the post-game news conference.
The attention that followed led Christianson to found his company, P-X-P. He works primarily behind the scenes with chief operating officer Jason Altmann, Christianson’s lifelong friend and third-generation Deaf person. Through P-X-P, their company provides ASL broadcasts of live sporting events with Deaf representation, sports-related interpreting inquiries and general consultation on how teams can engage with their Deaf fanbase.
Big league expansion
The key to building access for the Deaf community, Christianson says, is finding people that view incorporating ASL as not only the right thing to do, but as something that provides value, too. He’s found those changemakers in the NHL.
Since 2022, when Christianson interpreted Commissioner Gary Bettman’s state of the league address, the NHL has been one of P-X-P’s most committed clients. It’s expanded into an entire platform for Deaf and hard-of-hearing fans called NHL in ASL. The NHL now offers groundbreaking broadcasts of the Stanley Cup Finals and Winter Classic completely in ASL.
The broadcasts hold a special place in Christianson’s heart because they’re hosted by two Deaf broadcasters who offer firsthand commentary. He emphasizes, “They’re not interpreting information. This is from them — this is their own research.”
ESPN and Sportsnet+ carry the ASL coverage across the U.S. and Canada via stream. The broadcast is the first-of-its kind for such a large national league and one of Christianson’s proudest achievements.
The future of ASL in sports
When asked about sport leagues’ future engagement with the Deaf community, Christianson is like many sports fans — he looks at the stats. “People underestimate the power of the Deaf and hard of hearing community,” he says. “There is data that 33 million Deaf and hard-of-hearing people who live in the United States want this.”
Organizations that push toward an inclusive future, such as the NHL, have seen an immediate return on investment. While Christianson is happy to report that the broadcasts are commercially viable, he’s most proud of the visibility they’ve given the Deaf community. “It’s such a vibrant, rich, loving community, and I want everyone to see what I see.”
