TPGi

Every time the Tennessee Titans player DeAndre Hopkins' scores a touchdown, he delivers the ball to his mom Sabrina Greenlee, who is blind. It’s one of the best traditions in sports. The whole story is heartbreaking. Seventeen years. That's how long it has been since she lost her vision when a woman she didn't know threw acid at her face, blinding and disfiguring her in a bout of jealous rage. Greenlee was a single mother of four in South Carolina, caught up in abusive relationships, hustling to survive. DeAndre was 10 years old. Over time, she regained her sight in spurts, but it disappeared completely a few years ago, just as her son was emerging as one of the NFL's brightest stars. Since then, millions of people have watched the now Tennessee wide receiver dive for otherworldly catches on the national stage, racking up more receptions through the first six seasons of a career than any other player in NFL history. If her son scores, she explains, her daughter will help her stand up and lean over the barrier so she can accept the football from Hopkins. This ritual serves as a reminder that, while she can't see her son, he still sees her -- and he wants the world to see her too. “That ball symbolizes so much more than people ever could understand”