LAURA WOODS has shared the inspiring story of a Crystal Palace fan who kept their disability secret for over a decade.
Blogger Dan Cook runs the popular HLTCO account on Twitter, which has over 113,000 followers.
He revealed his identity to fans as he opened a YouTube account after 12 years of anonymity.
TalkSPORT breakfast presenter Woods was moved by his story and shared it on air.
She said: “[Dan] is a massive Palace and football fanatic. And he’s been doing this social media stuff since about 2011. And he’s always kept his identity completely silent.
“When he was younger I think he wanted, like most people, to be a footballer. He couldn’t do it because he realised really quickly that his disability wouldn’t allow him to do that.
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“Yesterday he revealed his identity – ‘my name is Dan and I have cerebral palsy.'”
Woods adds that she had been on his podcast before and was not aware of his condition.
The host, who also fronts ITV and Amazon football coverage, speaks about Dan’s fears of facing abuse for his disability.
This took co-host Ally McCoist by surprise.
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Woods said: “Ally, it’s social media. Everything happens on there.
“Why did I want to share his story? It made me feel a certain way. It made me feel shocked and a bit guilty because I didn’t know.
“And it also made me feel sad that someone would want to hide a part of themselves away, especially something like a disability.
“And then I read the comments underneath and I found them so uplifting.”
Cook was stunned by Woods mentioning his story on air.
He tweeted: “Honestly, having @laura_woodsy take the time to say this about me on national radio is mind-blowing. Thank you so, so much. You’re a legend.”
The Palace podcaster is likely enjoying the season so far with the South London side a comfortable mid-table under Patrick Vieira.
However the Eagles have lost four of their last five games, including a surprise FA Cup exit at the hands of struggling Southampton.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
