In a world where professional athletes are so often dickheads, so often terrible, so often selfish and disgusting, the Seahawks’ Derrick Coleman is everything we all should strive to be. Chances are you know his story: He’s the first deaf offensive player in NFL history, a guy who exchanges letters with hearing-impaired kids and gives up his first-class airline seats to Marines. He’s not the fastest Seahawk nor the biggest, but on a team stocked with personalities and stars, Coleman just might be the best—because of the person he is and what he’s overcome to get to this point. Next time your kid wants a Seahawks jersey, you could do far worse than to order Coleman’s #40.

Read all of our picks for Sports & Adventure, and explore the rest of this year’s edition of Best of Seattle.