Eddie Shannon

Who is Eddie Shannon?

Eddie Shannon is an American former professional basketball player.

Shannon, a native of West Palm Beach in Florida, has played his entire career essentially with only one eye. At the age of 10 while playing with some of his seventh-grade friends, Eddie was unintentionally hit in the right eye with a rock, forever altering his vision. Following the accident, he underwent surgery to remove blood clots from his eye, and a year later, had a cataract removed. As an eighth grader, his vision began to blur, and he could only see shadows. Even with limited vision, Eddie went on to star for Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach which led him to be recruited by the University of Florida where he became the Florida Gators starting Point Guard and is among the schools all-time leaders in assists and steals. Shannon graduated from UF in 1999.

Despite Shannon continuing to excel on the basketball court, the vision in his right eye got progressively worse. After consulting a doctor, he made the decision to have a certain type of surgery, known as an Evisceration, which involves removing parts of his eye. He was eventually fitted with a cosmetic prosthesis that covers his damaged cornea leading him to wear goggles when playing, though he has since discarded them.