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Cameron Black was born blind in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1988. He moved to the Lake of the Ozarks area as a teenager, and today, he works as a team lead for Alphapointe in Kansas City.
In 2023, Black did play-by-play commentary for an NBA playoff game on live television. He called the game solo, from tip-off to final buzzer.
‘The Life I’ve Always Wanted to Live’
Black’s first brush with Kansas City was during the summer he turned 20. He took vision rehabilitation courses at Alphapointe, a nonprofit that helps blind and visually impaired people achieve independence.
Alphapointe, which started as the Kansas City Association for the Blind in 1916, provides rehabilitation, career training, employment services, and education for thousands of blind and visually impaired people.
Black’s goal was to live on his own. So he learned how to locate audio crosswalk buttons and where to find braille. He learned simple skills, such as navigating public transportation systems, using screen readers, browning meat, and cooking grilled cheese sandwiches. After he finished, he moved back to the lake—and lived on his own.
“It helped me live the life that I have always wanted to live,” says Black. “It helped me live a normal life.”
Adapting to a Sports Town
At 28, married and expecting a child, Black moved back to Kansas City in search of work. Alphapointe, which employs hundreds of blind and visually impaired people, gave him an opportunity just before his first daughter was born.
He had never been interested in sports because he figured it was too visual to follow, but he thought that if he could learn enough about Chiefs football, he could get by in his new city. So he learned the game from his dad, a massive college football fan, over several phone calls. His dad recommended listening to Chiefs games on the radio, not TV.
Black got hooked. He loved the energy and passion play-by-play man Mitch Holthus brought to the game. He started listening to other sports, and he eventually started writing about sports for FanSided.
Black’s story spread. Holthus caught wind of it and hosted him at a Chiefs game, nominated him for an fan award, and had him on his radio show.
Then Black got a Facebook message.
‘I About Deleted It’
“Someone sent me a message, and you know how Facebook is just rife with spam messages, scams—I about deleted it,” he says.
The messenger said their company was helping Michelob ULTRA develop technology to help blind people follow sports. Black learned that the tech would use haptic vibration and audio to convey a game’s developments to blind fans—and they wanted Black’s help developing it for basketball.
“And then to prove that it works,” they told him, “we’re going to have you commentate a live NBA game.”
Black agreed. For months, he helped create an explanatory language of vibrations and sounds the listener would receive through vests, arm bands, and braille displays. He also learned the ropes of broadcasting.
April 21, 2023: Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks
The game was set: game three, first round of the NBA Playoffs, Madison Square Garden. Black’s commentary would air live on the MSG Network and YouTube.
“I was absolutely petrified the entire day,” Black says. “I just didn’t want to disappoint anybody. But when I started, all the cameras were gone, and I wasn’t thinking about any of that. I was just having fun. I absolutely loved it.”
Black got the bug. He wants to continue using his voice—in commentary, in sports radio, and in voiceover work.
‘Alphapointe Gave Me Confidence’
Black says Alphapointe laid the foundation for all that followed.
“Alphapointe has made me confident enough to do the things that I have done,” Black says. “And I just mean living a normal life. Getting to be in my house that I own, pay the bills on, and make sure is clean for my children. I’m a fully functioning 36-year-old member of society.
“That is something Alphapointe has done for me very directly, not only as a rehab client but as an employee. I believe it’s that confidence that made it possible for me to feel like I could reach out and try to accomplish more.”