11-08-2025
DeAndre Hopkins' mom details horrific acid attack that left her blind in new ESPN Chiefs documentary
DeAndre Hopkins' mother has recalled the horrific acid attack that left her blind in 2002.
The wide receiver's mom, Sabrina Greenlee, discussed the harrowing event in the new ESPN docuseries ' The Kingdom', which provides an in-depth look at the Chiefs' dynasty (Hopkins spent most of last season in Kansas City after being traded there).
Speaking in the fifth episode of the series, which the Daily Mail was able to view in advance of its August 14 release, Greenlee remembered the day 23 years ago that initially began with her realizing car was missing.
Greenlee soon got a call from her boyfriend at the time, who gave her the address of a home to get the car back.
From there, the pair began arguing before another woman came outside and threw what Greenlee described as a 'concoction' on her body, hitting her in her face, neck and back and leaving her with severe burns.
'The skin instantly falls off of my body,' Greenlee recalled in 'The Kingdom.'
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'In that moment, I was thinking this is how I'm going to literally die.'
Greenlee said she was in a coma for about a month before eventually awaking, and also had to learn how to walk again.
And Hopkins, who was only 10 at the time, can still remember what it was like seeing his mom after the attack.
'The day I finally got to see my mom with my siblings, once she came from the hospital, her whole face was wrapped up,' he said in the docuseries. 'And I just remember seeing her eyes and how different they were.'
Greenlee also recalled a somber moment in which she and her kids sat in bed and cried: 'We just didn't understand why somebody would wanna do that to somebody,' she recalled.
'We just really didn't wanna leave her side, I guess we felt like if we could be around her and protect her - we didn't wanna let her go,' Hopkins added.
Despite being just 10 years old, Hopkins 'became the man of the house,' his mother said.
'He'd read to me, describe what's on the television. And it's like if he's not giving up, how dare I. I sat my children down and I said 'This doesn't define us.''
Of course, Hopkins has gone on to have a stellar career in football, racking up five Pro Bowls, three All-Pro selections and the second-most receiving yards in Texans' history.
Last season, after being traded to the Chiefs from Tennessee, he had the chance to compete in the Super Bowl after his squad defeated the Bills in a memorable AFC Championship Game.
And the moment brought Greenlee to tears for a much happier reason.
'This is so big,' she said on the field after the game. 'You understand like, with you playing in the Super Bowl, you have put so much time and work in. So many sacrifices in your playing.
'Nobody understands what that feels like, baby. I saw you [play] for two years and then I couldn't see you no more. But you kept going.'
Hopkins and the Chiefs ultimately lost in the Super Bowl to the Eagles, and he departed the team this offseason for the Ravens.
His connection with his mother, though, remains incredibly touching.
