Dartanyon Crockett’s eyesight is limited, but his vision is grand.
A gold medal. A life helping handicapped kids. Those are two of the things the USOC Paralympic judo star can see for himself down the road. The 19-year-old swats away obstacles in his life as he does the hands and legs of opponents on the judo mat.
“A visual impairment can’t stop you,” Crockett said. “Only you yourself can. It’s all up to that person, if they want to give up or not or keep trying.”
A lot of people might have given up had they been dealt the hand Crockett had growing up in Cleveland. At birth, he was diagnosed with Leber optic atrophy, a disease that causes severe visual impairment. His mother, Juanita, died of a brain aneurysm when he was 8. His biological father, Arthur Harris, was addicted to drugs and alcohol. Crockett lived in abject poverty, often with no parental supervision, wondering where his next meal would come from. He moved in with his father after his mother passed, but there were many worrisome nights alone, wondering where his father was. Kids made fun of him because of his handicap.
Crockett persevered, largely to fulfill a promise to his mother.
“She always told me not to give up, and even after she passed away, I couldn’t let her down,” he said.
Wrestling out, judo in
Although Crockett is legally blind, he can fuzzily make out objects that are within a few feet of him, with a vision diagnosed as 2 0/200. He loved sports, but his impairment limited him to individual athletic activities such as weightlifting. After building himself up to the point that nobody dared pick on him anymore, Crockett fell in love with wrestling and he became a star at Cleveland’s Lincoln West High School.
He befriended a teammate and recent transfer to the school, Leroy Sutton, who lost his legs at 11 after being struck by a train.
Soon, Crockett was carrying Sutton on his back to enter the wrestling ring, images that captured hearts of the nation in an ESPN “Outside the Lines” feature.
But when high school ended, so did Crockett’s wrestling career. Wrestling is not included in the Paralympics, the classification Crockett would have needed to pursue any Olympic dreams. Judo is included, however, and after seeing the “Outside the Lines” report, Beth Bourgeois, USOC associate director of the U.S. Paralympics, contacted Lisa Fenn, the ESPN producer of the Crockett-Sutton feature titled “Carry On,” and got more information about Crockett’s possible interest in transitioning to judo under the the USOC’s watch.
With Fenn acting as an intermediary of sorts, Crockett was given a chance to perform his judo skills, and coaches of the U.S. team were impressed. Now, Crockett is practicing daily in Colorado Springs and doing well in events throughout the country. He placed third in the Liberty Bell Classic and had victories in the Northglenn Judo Championships and in the 178-pound class of the national championships. He will compete in the Pan Am Championships for the Blind in Orlando, Fla., in September.
“He has that mind-set of someone who, when people say he can’t do something, he wants to prove them wrong,” said Ryan Reser, an assistant coach with the U.S. judo program and gold medal winner of the 2007 Pan Am Games and a 2008 Olympian. “Those kinds of kids are always a pleasure to work with. Most of us usually come from a wrestling background, so we actually prefer that coming in. It’s the same kind of mind-set around the mat.”
The biggest adjustment, Crockett said, has been wearing the gi outfit required of judo competitors.
“They’re heavy, and they’re hot,” he said.
Developing other skills
Crockett will continue with the sport but also plans to enroll this fall at Pikes Peak Community College and hopes to have a career counseling kids with disabilities. He has an artistic side he wants to develop.
“I sing a little bit and play the drums, and I’m a bit of a sketch artist,” Crockett said. “I like to sketch portraits of people, like faces and hands and stuff like that.”
Crockett’s relationship with his father was mended several years ago and is to the point that Arthur Harris is considering moving to Colorado to be closer to his son. Crockett said Harris is clean and sober and has held down a job long-term as a waiter in Cleveland.
“He really helped me as I got older,” Crockett said.
Doctors have told Crockett a lasik procedure might improve his vision, but for now he’s not interested.
“There’s nothing I can’t do, other than drive, and to me a car costs way more than it’s worth. It doesn’t prevent me from doing what I want to do,” he said.
Said Bourgeois: “He’s just remarkable. His athletic aptitude, kindness, zest for life. He’s a great young man.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360, adater@denverpost.com or
