'More than a label': Why Ella Thornton-Elliott refuses to be silenced

• Ella Thornton-Elliott plays for Joondalup Wolves in the NBL1 West Women's Conference
• She has experienced bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in both ears since birth
• Thornton-Elliott's goal is to help Joondalup win the NBL1 West championship

With game, grit, and a grin that shuts down pity before it starts, Ella Thornton-Elliott doesn’t need to hear every word to know what’s being said — and she refuses to be defined by any of it.

At 21, the Perth-born combo-guard for the NBL1 West’s Joondalup Wolves has followed a pathway familiar to many emerging basketballers. But the way she sees and hears the game is entirely her own.

“When I step on the court and everyone’s like, ‘oh my God, that’s the deaf girl’, that’s not something I want to be known as,” she said.

“Yes, it’s a part of me. But I don’t want it to define me.”

Breaking Through the Noise

Thornton-Elliott from childbirth has experienced bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in both ears — caused by damage in the cochlea and along the auditory nerve to the brain. She describes bassy sounds and muffled noises as the only sounds she can hear, and she must concentrate closely to what is being said with a hearing aid on.

Her hearing loss is hereditary, with both her brother and mother born with the same impairment, though not to the same extent.

Ella’s mother, Fleur Thornton shared that subtitles, written communication, lip-reading, and body language are some methods of communication in the household, allowing for a naturally accommodating environment.

Thornton says conversations with her daughter have been important in facing everyday setbacks and challenges, turning them into opportunities. This has shaped her as a basketballer and human.  

“Our shared experiences have fostered a unique and deeply personal bond between us,” Fleur said.

“I believe these conversations have helped Ella develop a strong sense of self-advocacy and pride in who she is… and for me watching her grow into someone who doesn’t just overcome challenges but uses them to empower others has been truly inspiring.”

Joondalup Wolves CEO Andrew Summerville said Thornton-Elliott exuded that aura around the club, with her bubbly nature dragging the attention away from the ‘deaf basketball player’.

“She’s always got a smile on her face and always comes and greets me at practice and normally has some sort of smart comment for me about something I’ve done wrong,” he said.

“She’s definitely a character and does not let any of her hearing issues affect the way she goes about her business.”

Fighting Back

These challenges are not foreign to Ella. Thornton-Elliott tore her ACL in 2019, a tough break just as her youth career had taken off. One simple direction change led to a full knee reconstruction, followed by an 18-to-20-month recovery. Having lost the opportunity to showcase her talent to scouts, Thornton-Elliott was shattered.

“Although I had a really, really good support network around me, mentally I was just exhausted,” she said.

“Prior to this injury, I was pretty much injury free, so it was definitely a big shock to me.”

Fleur Thornton having seen her daughter’s resilience through this setback, said that the adversity she’s faced is the real story.

“For me, and anyone who knows her well, the real inspiration lies in the quiet determination, the setbacks she’s overcome, the voice she’s found, and the pride she carries in who she is,” she said.

“She’s taught me, and so many others, the power of perseverance, authenticity, and self-advocacy.”

Thornton-Elliott said while she had fully embraced her hearing loss and felt the support around her, that wasn’t always the case.

Being from a basketball family meant exposure to the game from a young age. But while it made the game second nature to her, her young mind wasn’t ready, as Thornton-Elliot’s self-conscience toyed with her wellbeing.

“I really struggled with it — having that impairment that pretty much no one else has is really difficult to embrace,” she said.

“Everyone does like the Chinese Whispers games and stuff like that during training and it’s very difficult to be a part of that environment.”

Thornton-Elliott expressed gratitude at the acceptance she’s felt from those around her as she’s gone through the ranks and matured.

“The reassurance that I got from my teammates and coaches definitely made it easier for me,” she said.

“I think growing up and I think as people get older in general, it’s just something that becomes more accepting.”

Ella Thornton-Elliott said her hearing impairment made for some interesting nuances when she’s on the floor — when the batteries on her hearing aids HAVEN’T run out.

“When there’s a screen coming, someone yells screen, and then I don’t hear it and I just get absolutely wiped out, that happens all the time,” she said.

“There’s been a lot of times when I’ve gone up for rebounds, my ears been hit and my hearing aid’s fallen out. I’ve had to stop playing, and everyone’s like ‘what’s going on?’”

Despite the inconvenience, Thornton-Elliott praises the adjustments her teammates have made to make her life easier without the reliance on aural cues.

“We’ve come up with ways, you know, hand signals, stuff like that to kind of help me,” she said.

“We have a play that starts with C, so it’s literally just holding up like a C with your hands, in my deaf team, we had a play called pistols, where everyone put up a gun hand - there’s always a way.”

The Wolves’ Wildcard

Silence hasn’t ever stopped Thornton-Elliott from making noise.

In her second season at the Joondalup Wolves in the NBL1, she has thrived.

Thornton-Elliott took responsibility as an unorthodox power forward last season but now in her traditional role as a combo-guard, she feels more at home.

In the 2024 NBL1 campaign, she didn’t post one double digit scoring performance, but in five contests so far in 2025, she has had three.

Having been given the green light from deep, she’s attempted at least five threes in each contest, connecting on 14.

Thornton-Elliott pointed to the reason this increased trust has evolved.

“In the offseason, I went away and played with the deaf team and my role in that team was to shoot the ball,” she said.

“I think because I had a pretty good shooting tournament, my coach said to me, the green light is there for you to shoot.

“I’m glad that’s paying off so far, but there’s always more work to be done.”

Summerville was hoping that Joondalup could be that team to nurture Thornton-Elliott as at 21, there is plenty of untapped potential for the team to unlock.

“We see her being a key part of what we do for many years to come,” he said.

“As her game matures and she experiences growth, she will certainly be a big part of what we’re doing moving forward, that’s for sure.”

Finding Her Voice in Silence

Her NBL1 career aside, some of her fondest moments come with the Geckos, Australia’s Deaf & Hard of Hearing Women’s Basketball Team.

In their first year of representation after a 15-year hiatus, they finished 2nd in the 2024 Asian-Pacific Deaf Basketball Championships. Their next stop: the 2025 Tokyo Deaflympics.

Thornton-Elliott was grateful for the company during the national team’s last campaign.

“Obviously training every day with the games every couple of days was physically exhausting and being away from home and stuff like that was difficult, but the group of girls that we had was so amazing,” she said.

“Everyone was learning sign language; everyone has their little gags in sign that we like to give each other - definitely a lot easier now and there’s a lot more banter about it which is great.”

For all the unique eye-opening stories her teammates possess, Thornton-Elliott said teammate Sienna Grady’s story resonated.

Grady doesn’t wear hearing aids or a cochlear implant, rather requiring an interpreter. Thornton-Elliott said this simple fact inspired her as it provided deeper perspective.

“It made me feel like, ‘oh my God I have nothing to complain about, because I can still hear what’s going on [with my hearing aids]’,” she said.

“She’s so successful and she’s doing so many good things in her life, so it was very, very inspiring to me.”

Playing for the deaf team presented unique challenges. The tournament requires all forms of hearing assistance to be removed, forming an unfamiliar experience on-court for Thornton-Elliott.

“The first time I had been caught without my hearing aids, I was like, “Oh my god, this is really, really weird’,” she said.

“But I’m very fortunate that in terms of the deaf team, I’m one of the strongest hearing, so a lot of people rely on me to direct what’s going on.”

Thornton-Elliott explained some of the more unorthodox communication strategies.

“If the screen’s being set, we have to go physically grab the player and pull them out so they don’t get hit”, she said.

“I’ve watched games back, and we look like a bunch of headless chooks trying to figure out what’s going on the court and just waving at each other, but yeah it’s really fun”.

The Price of Representation

Thornton-Elliott feels pride every time she gets to represent Australia. But it’s a struggle to have that privilege.

Without support from sporting bodies or the government, Deaf Basketball Australia athletes must pay for their own flights, accommodation, and tournament fees — affecting Thornton-Elliott who must travel from WA to Victoria for training camps alone.  

Thornton-Elliott has taken initiative to increase the team’s visibility, knowing that awareness surrounding the deaf team has a long way to go.

“I have actually taken it upon myself with some of the girls in the team to talk about the social media of our team, like we need to have more coverage,” she said.

“We do not have enough players that are coming to trials, and I know there are so many girls with hearing loss that can play basketball, that are wanting to play basketball.”

Thornton-Elliott advocates for the female youth to step into the welcoming community Deaf Basketball Australia has cultivated.

“I want to be able to encourage those girls that there is a place for you, and that is with us,” she said. “

We’ll take you under our wing, we want you to try out, and we want you to be a part of this community.”

Ella’s mother Fleur Thornton said a lack of resources and training may be keeping those away at the grassroots level to support athletes effectively, with improvements required.

“When Ella was younger, we often found ourselves having to step in and advocate for her inclusion, there weren’t many systems in place designed to proactively support her,” she said.

“More needs to be done to build inclusive environments from the ground up so that all abilities are seen, respected and supported from the very beginning.”

Life Beyond Basketball

Amidst a hectic week of basketball that dominates her weeknights, Thornton-Elliott works full-time at Curtin University, inviting a packed schedule she relishes. However, she emphasises the importance of a work-life balance.

“The work that I do, I’m literally sitting at a desk for 8 hours behind a computer,” she said.

“When I get to training, even though I’m mentally tired and fatigued for the day, physically, I feel like I’m just ready to go punch a wall. Having that physical outlet is just so important and I love it so much.”

Thornton-Elliott also coaches her brother’s Under-14 team twice a week, something she thinks could be a part of her long-term vision.

“I love coaching, inspiring the developing players coming up, and it’s definitely something that I would look into post-career,” she said.

“I’ve definitely made a promise to myself that when I did retire from basketball as a player, I would move into coaching and would love to be an NBL1 coach.”

A Ring in Sight

Thornton-Elliott is yet to channel the signature celebrations of childhood idol Steph Curry after a three-point make, but she dreams of a celebration much larger.

“An NBL1 championship has been on my sights for the entire time that I’ve played NBL1,” she declared.

“As a collective, I would love to celebrate at the very end with a ring with my team.

“That is definitely the main goal.”

If anyone knows this isn’t outside of the realm of possibility given Ella’s character, it’s her mother Fleur Thornton.

“Despite the hurdles she has faced, she has never lost sight of who she is or what she wants to achieve,” Thornton said.

Thornton-Elliott’s hearing may shape how she plays – but it will never define why she does.