HOUSTON – Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins spoke to nearly 300 students Friday afternoon at Houston's Margaret Long Wisdom High School, where for the first time publicly, he shared his own personal experience with domestic violence.
"At the age of 12, my mother was physically assaulted. She had acid thrown on her face, which left half of her face with no face. She had to have a skin graft and it left her blind in both eyes. So since the age of 12, my mother has never seen me play a football game," Hopkins said.
Hopkins had always wanted to share his story, and when he saw that his mother was beginning to give her testimony, it inspired him to do the same.
"If my mom can get out the bed when she doesn't want to and go speak to hundreds of people about her testimony, then it's nothing for me," he said.
Hopkins has teamed up with Aid to Victims of Domestic Violence and plans to continue to fight to end domestic violence.
"It's more than being a football player. It's about affecting the community you're in and trying to help somebody. If there's one kid who paid attention out here then I feel like I did my job today," Hopkins said.