All About Deandre Hopkins' Mom Sabrina Greenlee

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Deandre Hopkins pays tribute to his mother, Sabrina Greenlee, every chance he gets.

In 2016, as a member of the Houston Texans, the All-Pro wide receiver wore pink Adidas cleats to raise awareness for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Hopkins feels strongly about this issue because Greenlee has survived numerous abusive relationships.

The right clip displayed the phone number of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and the left featured the phrase “End Domestic Violence.” He also donated money to the Texas Association of Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA) for every hit during that month.

Hopkins continues to honor his mother on game days by giving her a ball after each touchdown, a tradition that dates back to his freshman season after being selected with the 27th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft out of Clemson.

“That ball — it means love. It signifies strength,” Greenlee said in the 2022 episode Heavy blows.

“My mom is at every game. It gives me a different boost than a lot of people. … Just seeing her happy, it’s the best feeling in the world,” Hopkins said in a trailer for ESPN’s 2019. Cover story.

From a life-changing event to raising four successful children, here’s everything you need to know about Deandre Hopkins’ mother, Sabrina Greenlee.

She is blind

Deandre Hopkins with his mom Sabrina Greenlee.

Instagram/sabrinagreenlee12

Greenlee’s life changed forever on July 20, 2002. That morning, she noticed her car was missing and later realized that the man she had been seeing for several months had taken it without her permission. When Greenlee arrived at his designated car pickup location, he showed up and apologized, but things then took a tragic turn.

“I was attacked by a young lady, a female,” Greenlee recalled in a clip from Heavy blows 2022. “Unbeknownst to me, she was the girlfriend of the guy I was dealing with. And pours in a mixture of liquid Red Devil lye mixed with Clorox. She calls my name and tells me this.”

After being airlifted from South Carolina to a burn center in Georgia, Greenlee was placed in a medically induced coma while doctors grafted skin from her chest and put it back on her face.

“I’m coming out of a coma, but I’m coming out of a coma completely blind,” she explained.

At first, Greenlee was conscious of her scars, even bandaging her face before going out to watch Hopkins play. Fearing ridicule, she stopped going to games until her son convinced her to return.

“It goes back to when I got my courage up when he was in junior high,” Greenlee said in 2019. ESPN profile. “I remember him saying, ‘I just want you to be there.’ So if I’m there, and I’m present, and I’m alive…that’s ultimately all he wants. He doesn’t care that I can’t see.”

He has four children

Sabrina Greenlee with her children.

Instagram/ sabrinagreenlee12

Greenlee is a mother of four. Along with her NFL star son, she is also a parent to Markesha “Kesha” Smith, Marcus Greenlee, and Shanterria Cobb.

In the 2016 interview The Houston ChronicleHopkins praised his mother and her ability to raise successful children, despite hard times.

“My mother always encouraged us to work hard and achieve our dreams,” Hopkins said. “As a single parent, she has truly gone above and beyond and I know she is proud that all of her children are attending college.”

Smith and Cobb often accompany their mother to their brother’s games and provide play-by-play commentary.

Deandre pays tribute to her during the games

Deandre Hopkins passes the ball to his mom for a touchdown.

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Wide receivers usually celebrate a touchdown with a smart dance, but Hopkins has a unique gesture dedicated to his mom.

Whenever he scores a touchdown, Hopkins gets the ball to Greenlee, who usually sits close to the field to get in on the action. The Pro Bowler carries this tradition with him from his time with the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals and now the Tennessee Titans.

“I always imagine, whenever I catch her, her reaction,” Hopkins said in 2019. ESPN feature. “And sometimes when I drop the ball, I’m like, ‘Damn. I let my mum down.’ ”

For Greenlee, who has not always felt deserving of the honor, the act takes on added significance.

“I haven’t always been your typical role model mother, and he still respects me enough for everyone to see him give me the ball,” she added in the same interview. “That ball symbolizes a lot more than people could ever understand.”

She is the author

Sabrina Greenlee at the 2019 ESPYs.

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In July 2024, Greenlee was released Give me a vision: A journey of family, faith and forgiveness — a memoir recounting her harrowing experience and how she triumphed over adversity. The striker, written by Hopkins, touches on his tribute to the game ball.

“Even though my mom never got the chance to see me score a touchdown, throughout college at Clemson and to this day in the NFL, I bring her the football after I reach the end zone,” he wrote. “I deliver it to her when she’s sitting in the stands so she can touch it, so she can feel that I scored and that together we won against all odds.”

Hopkins also sweetly greeted his mom on Xu (formerly known as Twitter) on the book’s release date.

“Congratulations on the presentation of the book Mom! This is my mom’s story of conquering motherhood. From selling drugs just to feed four children, to overcoming depression due to blindness. This is more than a book, it’s us,” he said.

She runs a non-profit organization

Deandre Hopkins and his mom Sabrina Greenlee on stage during the BET Super Bowl Gospel Celebration.

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A decade after the attack that changed her life forever, Greenlee decided to help other women facing similar challenges.

She founded SMOOOTH Inc. (Speaking Mentally, Outwardly Opening Opportunities Toward Healing), a non-profit organization that provides counseling, support and workshops to victims of domestic violence and their children.

“I felt like it was only right that I go after the one thing that I needed the most, and that was someone to be there for me,” Greenlee explained in an interview with NBC News NOW in 2024. “So now we’re dating and I have women everywhere focused on transitioning women. We have done so many amazing things. Most of all, encouraging them and building them up and letting them know that someone cares.”

Hopkins was also involved in fundraising and meeting with his mother’s wards.

“It helped me learn a lot, about life, about how to treat a woman,” he revealed to ESPN 2019. “It helped me become a man.”

She is Deandre’s biggest fan

DeAndre Hopkins plays football.

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No matter who her son is answering for, Greenlee usually finds herself sitting in the same spot at home games, visualizing her son in motion with the help of her daughters’ commentary. She has been Hopkins’ number one fan since he started playing.

“I am his biggest supporter. I have always been,” she said during an interview with FOX 10 Phoenix 2021. “So, I’m that mom who, when he started at five or six years old, ran up and down the field screaming. I never sit on the bench – like all my children – but I look like a madman running up and down the field, and when he scored, I scored.”

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Source: HIS Education