NFL Star DeAndre Hopkins Hands His Mom the Ball Every Time He Scores a Touchdown — Here’s Why

DeAndre Hopkins is one the brightest NFL wide receivers, but his road to building his career was not easy. He witnessed his mother suffer the worst abuse, but she remains his number-one supporter despite the challenges.

DeAndre Hopkins is an American football wide receiver with a thriving career. However, his journey to success was not easy; he witnessed many traumatic events, but he believed his gifted hands would change his family's legacy.

Hopkins grew up in a small town in South Carolina; many who watched him grow up used to call him "Nuk" because he was a reserved little boy who was inseparable from his Nuk brand pacifiers.

Unfortunately, the wide receiver never met his father, Steve, who died in a car accident. Before his death, Steve was out on bail, facing decades in prison for trafficking, and he was reportedly known as the drug kingpin of the region.

Hopkins could only imagine what his father was like and was often told they were similar in many ways. Once, his mother walked in on him putting jelly on fried chicken, and she almost broke into tears because his father used to love eating jelly with almost everything.

When he was six, his grandmother told him about his father's accident. The then six-year-old boy was in tears because he had never experienced the presence of a father. "I just knew people have fathers," he said.

But through all of it, Hopkins had his siblings, Marcus Greenlee, Shanterria Cobb, Kesha Smith, and most importantly, his hard-working mother, Sabrina Greenlee.

Life After DeAndre Hopkins' Father Died

Greenlee was only 23 years old when Steve died. The two met when she was 19, but she struggled to get back on her feet after he passed. "I was lost, and I didn't really know how to take care of the kids," confessed Greenlee.

The mother worked two jobs, one at an automotive plant and another as an exotic dancer. She barely had time to be present in her children's lives, but Hopkins always looked out for his mother.

His godmother, Frances Hicks, said Hopkins would call and ask her to teach him how to cook because he wanted his mother to come home with a cooked meal.

Growing up, Hopkins and his siblings were always outside and witnessed several drug dealings and shootings. However, playing and tackling each other on the street was where Hopkins' talent started to show.

Although he believed his sister was better at football than most of the boys, he quickly proved that he was better when his growth spurt also resulted in his hands getting bigger.

By the time he was eight, Hopkins had started playing in a small league. All the mothers would sit on the sidelines and cheer, and Greenlee would yell at the referees and be invested in every game her son played.

From there, Hopkins only got better to a point where catching six touchdown passes in half a game was normal, and with each game, people saw that he would grow up to become a big football star.

Hopkins started thinking more about the praises people gave him and the talent they saw in him. He would look at his hands and think all it took was to catch a ball, and his life could change for the better. '"Man, just imagine -- one football can take you so far.'" his brother, Marcus, remembered him saying.

His supporters and his drive to change the lives of his family with his skills took him to bigger heights. During his junior year, he had 18 touchdowns, and scouts were starting to take a close look at him.

The football player had been working hard to be drafted into the NFL and was willing to leave school for the opportunity. Being drafted for the NFL meant he could put food on the table for his family.

In 2013, Hopkins was drafted by the Texans, and his life changed for the better. But as Hopkins rose to the ranks of becoming one of the biggest NFL stars, his mother, who had suffered a tragic accident when he was only ten, missed out on the chance to see her son on the big field.

The Tragic Accident and Special Mother-Son Tradition

While Greenlee tried her hardest to be a hands-on mother between working multiple jobs, she often found herself in abusive relationships. She revealed that by 15, she already experienced the kind of physical abuse that landed her in the hospital.

Greenlee had worked hard to get her family a small house with a driveway, and one morning, in July 2002, she woke up to her car gone. She figured it had been taken by the man she was involved with.

She had an address of where the car was. When she arrived, the man started apologizing, then a woman came out of nowhere and splashed acid on her face. At first, Greenlee wondered why someone would throw warm water at her face, but she realized her skin was peeling off.

The man put her in the back of the car and left her at a gas station. The station attendant who saw her screamed at the sight of her and the pool of blood she was in. But the attendant locked all doors and called an ambulance for Greenlee.

Greenlee was induced into a coma. She had about 20 surgeries on each of her eyes, and though some of the procedures helped regain some of her vision, it completely faded away with time.

However, Greenlee persevered through the challenge and learned to be independent. She has the help of her daughter, Kesha, but she can do most things on her own. The woman behind the tradegy is Savannah Carlita, and she was sentenced to 20 years in prison, where she's been since 2003.

is When it comes to her son's football matches, Greenlee can only lean on her imagination and the details her daughter gives during a match. Every time Hopkins plays at home, his mother is there to watch him.

She stands and leans over the barrier as Kesha explains the scores, Hopkins' runs, and how he looks. When Hopkins scores, he runs to his mother and lets her touch the ball.

This grew into a special tradition between the mother and son. To Hopkins, it is a way to show his mother that he sees and for her to feel him.

For Greenlee, it is even more touching for her son to acknowledge her in front of thousands of people. "I've not always been your typical role-model mother, and he still respects me enough to let everybody see him give me that ball. That ball symbolizes so much more than people ever could understand," said the proud mother.

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