Since entering the NFL as a first-round pick in 2013, DeAndre Hopkins has donned the No. 10 on his jersey. Now we know why.
DeAndre Hopkins wears No. 10 to honor his cousin, jailed 10 years
In the past, Hopkins has said he wears No. 10 in honor of world football star Lionel Messi, per ESPN. On Wednesday, Hopkins revealed the true reason he wears No. 10. It’s a lot more powerful, and somber.
Traded from Houston to Arizona this offseason, Hopkins perhaps was inspired to speak this truth by teammate Patrick Peterson. The veteran cornerback shared a passionate message on social media earlier this week in response to the death of George Floyd, who was killed in police custody on May 25.
Regardless of the reason he shared it, Hopkins clearly has strong feelings about why his cousin was jailed. That’s hardly surprising given his upbringing.
DeAndre Hopkins’ mother sold drugs, had acid thrown in her face
Last year, ESPN published a remarkable feature on Hopkins and his mother, Sabrina Greenlee. When Hopkins was a baby, his father died in a car accident. When he was a child, his mother worked multiple jobs and sold drugs on the side. She was also involved in toxic relationships that led to violence in the home.
When Hopkins was 10, his mother was trying to retrieve a car that had been taken by a man she was dating from her driveway. When she went to get it back at the address he provided, another woman threw acid in her face — blinding her permanently.
Once she recovered enough to come back home from the hospital, Greenlee dealt drugs from their home to make ends meet.
“It wasn’t a peaceful place,” Hopkins said of his home growing up.
The entire survival story of Hopkins and his family is incredible. And it has a lot to do with the man he has become now.