Sabrina Greenlee, mother of NFL star DeAndre Hopkins, on her journey to forgiveness after an acid attack

Sabrina Greenlee, the mother of Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, has endured unimaginable hardships that include poverty, sexual abuse and a brutal acid attack in 2002 that left her blind and severely burned. Despite these challenges, Greenlee shares her inspiring journey in her memoir, “Grant Me Vision: A Journey of Family, Faith, and Forgiveness,” which includes a foreword by her son.

Despite the pain and trauma, Greenlee says she wouldn’t change a thing.

“I feel like everything that I went through caused me to be the woman that I am today, and I know that all of those hardships, it built character resilience, and I’m that woman today that are helping many people through my testimony, through my story,” she said.

Forgiveness and healing

In an extraordinary act of forgiveness, Greenlee forgave her attacker, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She realized that to move forward and be the mother her children needed, she had to let go of her anger. Greenlee said she prayed for her attacker, which helped start her healing journey.

“I knew that I had to forgive the people who offended me or left me there despite everything that I’ve been through. I did it for my children, because I needed to get back to being a mother. That was very important for me,” Greenlee said. “So I began to humanize her by calling out her name. It was tough for me to do that. I began to make her relatable in my mind and not this monster I had created.”

Greenlee found it easier to remain bitter and blame others but knew she needed to hold herself accountable for her past. This involved asking her children for forgiveness, a moment Hopkins remembers vividly. 

“My mom put her ego to the side and cared about our feelings, and thought about us before herself,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins, who credits his mother for his success, honors her by giving her the football after a touchdown — a tradition that started when he played in recreation leagues.  

“It was just having that remembrance of my mom being there to see me play when I was a kid,” he said.

If you or someone you know is experiencing violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.