After DeAndre Hopkins' Tradition To Give His Blind Mother A Touchdown Ball Went Viral, His Family Shared A Tragic Life Story

Each time a 27-year-old wide receiver for the Houston Texans, DeAndre Hopkins, scores a touchdown in home games, he proudly hands the ball to his biggest fan in the crowd. It’s not just any fan. It’s his mother Sabrina Greenlee, who despite being blind and having never been able to see her son play professionally, attends every game and always takes the same seat in the end zone.

The touching tradition went viral and revealed a heart-wrenching story behind this unbreakable bond between a single mother of four and the NFL star. To Sabrina Greenlee, who lost her vision 17 years ago in a horrific acid attack, this ritual is a meaningful reminder that although she can’t see, her son sees her and wants the world to see her too.

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“We gave each other courage. We have a bond that can’t be broken,” Hopkins wrote in one of his Instagram posts that captures him passing a ball to his mother during a game.

Sabrina Greenlee had a challenging life marked by tragic events that made her the woman she is today: strong, inspiring and empowering. After Hopkins’ father died in a car accident when he was just a baby, the young mother was left alone with the kids, holding two jobs to make ends meet. She was caught up in several abusive relationships that led to the terrifying event that changed her life forever.

On July 20th of 2002, a presumably different girlfriend of a man she was dating at that time threw a bucket of a mixture of lye and bleach in her face, neck, chest and back out of jealousy. Greenlee was left to die at a gas station. After weeks in a coma, she was able to survive, but she lost all vision in her right eye and was left 40 percent blind in her left eye, with a deep emotional scar. Since then, Greenlee has had over 20 surgeries on both of her eyes, but her vision has disappeared completely a few years ago. It’s just a part of unimaginable journey of abuse, deaths, parenting struggles, and wrong life choices Greenlee had to battle.

Greenlee used her experiences to empower and educate survivors of domestic violence, and in 2013, she started a nonprofit organization called S.M.O.O.O.T.H., which stands for Speaking Mentally, Outwardly Opening Opportunities Toward Healing. She dedicated her life to helping as many people as she could through awareness programs and projects.

DeAndre Hopkins helps his mother and uses his success and influence to raise money and speak publicly about the issues from his own perspective. When NFL granted permission for players to wear custom cleats to promote their charitable causes, Hopkins wore pink and blue shoes with a caption "End Abuse" on the side, and 4 small icons of women, with one painted in a different color to mark the upsetting statistic that one in four women has experienced violence.

The inspiring story of Sabrina Greenlee didn’t go unnoticed, BRON Studios has partnered with Good Fear and Kituufu Films to develop and produce a feature film called “Sabrina”. The picture follows the young mother’s real and devastating life events, and the route to becoming a domestic violence advocate will be directed by Sam Bailey. Kristen Buckley will write the screenplay.

“I am honored to begin work on a film with @BronStudios that celebrates the life of my incredible, courageous, and inspiring mother,” Hopkins presented the movie to his fans on his social media.