About Zion
Zion Redington is a 16-year-old up and coming wheelchair rugby and basketball star who was born with ectrodactyly.
He was adopted from China into a loving family with two disabled siblings, and at the age of six had both of his feet amputated.
Zion is passionate about sports and was recently awarded one of Under Armour’s Athletes No One Saw Coming Grants, where he received $5,000 and one year’s worth of sports gear. His goal is to be the greatest wheelchair rugby player of all time.
Zion Redington on Ableism
[00:00] I'm Zion Redington and I am an up-and-coming wheelchair rugby star. I am not the only disabled person in my family. One of my older sisters had five open heart surgeries. My older brother has autism. Probably because my parents had always been raising someone who had a disability hey also were very supportive.
[00:24] I was an orphan in China until my family chose me, and that’s made all the difference. Why they gave me up well that tends to be a question most adoptive people have. That definitely has hit me hard before. I wouldn't say I've grown out of it, but I've grown to more understand why.
[00:42] When you're younger, you always want to fit in. You never want to be the outlier. If I could, I would have wanted to be full able-bodied, completely normal. But nowadays, through all of the connections I’ve made — sports, all my friends, everything I've done — I definitely would not give up my disability.